Radioactivity : a history of a mysterious science
Malley, Marjorie Caroline, 1941-2011
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In this vividly written and informative volume, Marjorie Malley presents a full history of radioactivity. Malley leads the reader through the twists and turns, surprises and dead ends which researchers experienced as they pursued their goal of understanding this strange discovery.
Main title:
Radioactivity : a history of a mysterious science / Marjorie C. Malley.
Author:
Imprint:
New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2011.
Collation:
xxi, 267 p. : ill., map ; 22 cm.
Notes:
Formerly CIP. UkIncludes bibliographical references (p. 235-250) and indexes.
Contents:
A new science. The beginnings. The setting ; Rays and radiation ; Becquerel's discovery -- The Curies. Maria Skłodowska ; A consequential meeting ; New elements! -- Rutherford, Soddy, particles, and alchemy? Rutherford and the rays ; Where did the energy come from? ; Material rays? Discovery of the beta particle ; Thorium's rays ; Vanishing radioactivity ; Transmutation! ; A missed discovery ; Reactions ; Atomic energy? ; Tragedy ; More rays ; The alpha particle -- The radioactive Earth. The prospectors ; How old is the earth? ; A new property of matter? -- Speculations. Early theories ; Radioactivity and probability ; Kinetic models of the atom -- Radioactivity and chemistry. The rise of radiochemistry ; Radioactive genealogy ; Chemistry of the imponderable ; Inseparable radioelements ; Isotopes ; Displacement laws ; The end of the lines ; More isotopes -- Inside the atom. Building blocks ; Bombarding atoms ; The nuclear atom ; The nucleus and the periodic table ; The gamma rays ; Theories of the nucleus -- Sequel. War! ; Radioactivity during World War I ; From radioactivity to nuclear and particle physics -- Measuring and using radioactivity. Methods and instruments. Crucial choices ; Standardizing the measures ; Innovations ; Size, money, and machines -- Radioactivity, medicine, and life. Unpleasant surprises ; From burns to treatments ; Rays and other organisms ; Miracle cure? ; Radioactive spas ; Dangers in the laboratory -- New industries. Early industry ; Soaring demand and new institutions ; Paint that glowed in the dark ; A new poison ; Fission, bombs, and the uranium rush ; Radioactivity and the oil industry -- Beyond the story. Radioactivity's prime movers. Technology, resources, and professional changes ; Individuals ; Research groups ; Scientific ideals and culture ; Mentors and models ; Age, attitudes, and ambition ; Nationalism -- Radioactivity and timeless questions : the quest for understanding. Models and theories for radioactivity ; Patterns in radioactivity's development ; Radioactivity and ideas about change ; Radioactivity and ideas about matter and energy ; Radioactivity and ideas about continuity and discontinuity ; Eternal conundrums -- The imaginative appeal of a discovery. Mythological and romantic dimensions of radioactivity ; An ongoing task.
ISBN:
9780199766413 (hbk)
Dewey class:
539.7'2539.72
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
1403969
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