Measurement of low-level radioactivity

JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS 45 (19/7273)

351-352.

BOOK REVIEWS

beta-

Measurement of low-level radioactivity, ICRU Report 22, issued by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, 7910 20014

Woodmont Avenue, Washington (66 pp., 1972, $3.50)

or gamma-active.

interfering radiations, emitted

also

receives

radionuclides

D.C.,

with

Special attention spectrometry some

is paid to

of the radiation

attention,

and specific

are discussed both in general terms and

specific

reference

stantial bibliography

to

standardization.

A

sub-

is included.

This is one of a series of reports, including 7 in the This report

discusses in detail

coincidence-techniques,

detectors,

last two years, on various aspects of dosimetry,

shielding,

Quantities and Units.

aspects of the methods required to get accurate assays of very weakly radioactive materials, whether alpha-,

R. W. CAR??

Radiation-induced voids in metals, ed. by J. W. CORBETTand L. C. IANIELLO. Proceedings of an International Conference held at Albany, N.Y., in June, 1971. (Published by the U.S. Atomic Energy Research Commission, 1972. 882 pp. Available as CONF-710601 for $9.00 from National Technical Information Service, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Springfield, Va. 22151) The volume under review is one of a matched pair other reports on a European

substantial

theory, notably

the detailed paper by Bullough

(both in ‘nuclear’

materials

: the

and theore-

role of heterogeneous no

analytical

swelling is the fons

problem

great

of

practical

to

irradiated

In

terms

a narrowly importance,

of

One

attempt

by

by

no means

obvious

or simple.

important paper from Harwell, by Bullough, J. Nucl. Mater. 44 (1972)

Since

under fast-

the effort

concern with

Fortunately

most rivals the wartime effort at Los Alamos. the scale of

is

relate

The form of relation between the two phenomenon is

five

shortcoming

reactor conditions,

to

of the whole research

years’ work on voids and the associated swelling alvoids are likely to be most troublesome

of gas,

however

is made

even though

et origo

traces

thing

exercise.

defined the

in establishing detailed

nucleation

or precipitates.

swelling to void growth,

temperatures.

on

of the

This important volume clearly establishes the main

on the formation

high

in particular

a detailed study

features of void formation, and especially the essential

and E. J. Fulton of the UK Atomic Energy Authority at

voids

sequences at the atomic level.

reported in 1966 by C. Cawthorne

effort applied

anneal:

contribute

power of field-ion microscopy

missing:

steel

and most

such as

this topic, including a detailed demonstration

from observations

concentrated

While

and in others,

and subsequent

Balluffi and Seidman

dislocations

stainless

deal with

copper), there is also some attention to voids induced by quenching

tical work report’ed at these meetings stems entirely

of voids in fast-neutron

several

papers are concerned with irradiation-induced

Conference held on the

experimental

but

The papers are

experimental

Perrin on the theory of void formation.

Society at Reading in March 1971. The very

extensive and sophisticated

review of French work.

predominantly

same topic under the auspices of the British Nuclear Energy

and

including a recent report (no. 19, 1971) on Radiation

sample preparation and other

certainly

this

has been largely rectified by a further

The volume

Brailsford 121.

and

under review is not only important,

indicates how seriously fast reactors are taken every-

but also dirt-cheap

where for the future of power generation.

concerned with reactors or physical metallurgy should

The USAEC America

volume contains 30 papers, mostly from

at 1 cent per page. All libraries

have it.

but also several from Britain and one very

R. W. CAHN

351