Radioactivity: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #324

by Claudio Tuniz

You cannot hide from radioactivity. Even the book you are holding is slightly radioactive, but there are more serious risks. Radioactivity - the breakdown of unstable atomic nuclei, releasing radiation - is a fundamental process in nature. It is a process that has been harnessed to provide wide and important applications in science, medicine, industry, and energy production. But it remains much misunderstood - and feared, perhaps because nuclear radiation cannot be detected by human senses, and can undoubtedly do great harm if appropriate precautions are not taken. In recent times there have been increasing concerns about nuclear terrorism.

The traces of radioactive atoms in rock have allowed us to understand the nature and history of the Earth, in particular to date events in that history. Radioactive dating has been used for a variety of purposes, from determining the age of the first hominids to the dating of the Turin Shroud. The discovery of radioactivity has improved our survival kit, but also gave us the chance to reach a new level of awareness on the history of our species and its environmental impacts.

In this Very Short Introduction , Claudio Tuniz explains the nature of radioactivity and discuss its role in nature. Describing radioactivity in the stars and in the Earth, he also looks at its wide range of applications in biomedicine and in science, as well as the mechanisms of nuclear fission and fusion, and the harnessing of nuclear power.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2012

Reviews

[عمر الحمادي · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب جيد للمهتمين باستخدامات وحسابات ومضاعفات الإشعاعات من حولنا.

[Usfromdk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a particularly good/interesting book, but 'okay-ish'. The last couple of chapters in particular felt a bit misplaced, given that they were really geology/anthropology chapters included in what was supposed to have been a physics/chemistry book.

[Paul Waring · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great introduction, you really need a decent amount of physics and chemistry knowledge to get past the first few chapters.

[Hallie Cantor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to think of radioactivity in totally negative terms until this book showed me that, rather than isolated and malevolent, radioactivity is everywhere and often beneficial. It is a double-edged sword -- useful for carbon dating, alternate sources of energy, food sanitation, but quite capable of destruction, as evidenced by the development of atom and hydrogen bombs. Chapters are devoted to the secular view of evolution, although the scientists seem unaware of Who is really driving the atoms and molecules.

In general, however, the writing was a bit too technical, at least for me, as the author presupposes the reader's knowledge of chemistry and physics.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not an introduction at all. I know the basics, but for me it was hard to comprehend whether 50 kEV is a lot or no. What are the fundamental differences between ion, positron and an electron in terms of radiation? I feel that the author was trying to tell too much. If you have decent amount of knowledge about physics and chemistry, it would be much more engaging.

[Mykyta Kuzmenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Довольно большая для этой серии книга с широким охватом прикладных аспектов.

[Giacomo Mangelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alle volte un po' pesante, ma interessante e condito di tanti aneddoti che descrivono come la radioattività era percepita dall'opinione pubblica, oltre che dalla scienza.

[Stephen Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

vsi to nuclear physics is better

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very few concepts and discoveries in modern science that are as universally frightening than radioactivity. An invisible force that cannot be seen or felt, and can only be detected with the most sophisticated devices, radioactivity conjures an image that has hitherto been reserved almost exclusively for supernatural agents and maladies. It’s grip on popular imagination is so strong, that even in cases where the use of radioactivity could be beneficial and pose no risk (such as food irradiation), people are so afraid of it that it would be impossible to implement those

This book gives a short introduction of history, effects, and uses of radioactivity. It covers most of the early discoveries in chronological order, and it gives some interesting insights into the evolution of our understanding (and fear) of radioactivity. Radioactivity is actually a very natural phenomenon, and we are all bombarded with radioactive particles all the time. However, only with the rise of nuclear power and energy has radioactivity become a very important and substantial environmental risk. This book talks about all sources of radioactivity that we might be exposed to on a regular basis, and it puts in context what the “normal” doses of radioactivity are compared to all these other sources. It gives many examples of the uses of radioactivity, several of which were completely new to me.

The book is reasonably well written and informative, but its prose tends to be a bit bland. The narrative doesn’t have a very smooth flow, and it jumps form one topic to another often. There are a couple of other things that I don’t particularly like about the content and the presentation of the material. The book doesn’t really go into any detail explaining the physics of radioactivity. A book like this one would be a great opportunity to explain to the general audience some interesting Physics concepts, such as strong and weak nuclear forces, quantum tunneling, and nuclear structure. Unfortunately the book doesn’t cover any of that. Furthermore, the author seems to be very knowledgeable about the uses of radioactivity in geology and archeology. He gives a lot of background information on those fields, perhaps to the point that he goes off the tangent. These are all very fascinating topics in their own right, but they tend to distract rather than enhance the understanding of the uses of radioactivity.

This is not the best book on radioactivity, but it covers many of the topics pertaining to this subject reasonably well. However, if you are interested in the Physics of radioactivity you should definitely look for some other resource.

[Dilek Üze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guzel kitap. Gercekten adi gibi "very short introduction" olmus ama konuyu hic bilmeyenler icin yine de iyi bir baslangic kitabi oldugunu dusunuyorum. Radyoaktivitenin evrenin bu kadar temel birseyi oldugunu ve hayatimizda her alanda bu kadar cok oldugunu ogrenince cok sasirdim acikcasi. Evimizdeki duman detektorunden, yedigimiz muza kadar herseyde bulunuyor.

Tabii gunumuzdeki radyoaktivitenin hayatimizi kolaylastirmasi hic de kolay olmamis, yani bu elementin insan sagligina ne kadar zararli oldugu henuz kesfedilmemisken. Ozellikle radyoaktif elementlerin yaydigi isinlarin (ozellikle gama isinlari, cunku bunlari kursun disinda neredeyse hicbirsey durduramiyor) insan sagligina oldukca zararli oldugu bilinmezken, bu elementlerin karanlikta parlamasi sebebiyle, insanlarin bunlari evlerinde dekorasyon amacli kullanmalari, sagliga yararli sanilarak cikolata ve kremlere bu elementlerin eklenmesi tek kelime ile inanilmaz. Nitekim, radyum ve polonyum elementlerini kesfeden Marie Curie de asiri radyasyona magruz kalmasi sebebiyle kanserden hayatini kaybediyor. Bilim icin olen kadin muhabbeti de buradan geliyor.

İlginc olan su ki, insanlar icin bu kadar zararli olan bir sey, bugun aslinda cogu insanin tedavisinde kullaniliyor. Tipta radyoaktivitenin kullanildigi oldukca onemli iki alan var: radyoloji ve nukleer tip. Radyoloji goruntuleme teknigiyle tani koyarken, nukleer tip radyoaktivite ile tedavi sunuyor diyebiliriz. Kitapta radyoaktivitenin tiptaki kullanim alanlarina da deginilmis.

Sonuc olarak, bu kitaptan anladigim Becquerel, Röntgen ve Curie'lerle baslayan radyoaktivitenin kesfi sureci, insanlik tarihinde inanilmaz bir donum noktasi. Cunku artik nukleer cagda yasiyoruz ve evren algimiz radyoaktivite ile inanilmaz bir donusum gecirmis durumda. Benim bu kitabi okuduktan sonra gecirdigim gibi.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much information in this little book. The author explains all the concepts, history, and applications very well. However, there is just a lot of information to digest and wrap my head around. I knew about how radioactivity can be used for generating energy, improving food and water, and the threat of weaponizing, but I never knew that radioactivity has been used for tracing the origin and evolution of the Earth. This is such an interesting topic that I wish the general public understood more about.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should probably be called "Radioactivity and its applications: a very short introduction". It drifts pretty far from its main topic and covers in considerable detail other related, but non-central topics of cosmology, earth science and the evolution of man. I would have preferred that the author stick to the core subject, although it appears that his specialization is in these applications of radioactivity.

[Sonya Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting introduction. many things learned and put into perspective. one of the earliest trial treatments for lupus was radium! so many radioactive items we come into contact with daily.

[Mills College Library]

539.752 T9268 2012

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite informative while being eminently readable