THE ATOMIC NUCLEUSM. KorsunskyAbout the book:The study of atomic structure is among the most important topics in modern physics, and in this age of nuclear fission and fusion the atomic nucleus has top priority as an object of intensive investigation and experimental research. This modern survey, originally published in 1958, presents all the available important facts about the nuclei of atoms in an unusually readable text.After a clear summary of early theory and experiment in radioactivity, the author devotes chapters to the nuclear model of the atom (Rutherford’s equation, Mendeleyev’s periodic table and nuclear charge, X-ray measurements, Bohr's theory of excitation, etc.), mass of nuclei (measuring techniques, work of Thomson and Aston, isotopes, nuclear binding energy, methods for separating isotopes, etc.), disintegration of nuclei (Rutherford’s disintegration of nitrogen, Blackett’s work, the neutron, Curie-Joliot experiments, nuclear transformations, etc.), the positron (cosmic rays, Bothe’s experiments, work of Skobeltsyn, birth and death of positrons and electrons, etc.), artificial transformation of nuclei (Cockcroft and Walton, Van de Graaff generators, acceleration of ions, cyclotrons, betatrons, synchrotons, cosmotrons, etc.), artificial radioactivity (Curie, Joliot, Fermi, low-energy neutrons, isomerism, new elements, etc.), mesons (Bethe, radiative loss, showers, Yukawa, types of meson, etc.), the neutrino (Pauli’s theory, K capture, Allen’s experiments, etc.), structure of nuclei, forces acting between nuclear particles, fission, transuranium elements, nuclear chain reactions, reactors, atomic energy and thermonuclear reactions.This is an extremely accurate, up-to-date, very thorough coverage of these important topics on a verbal level, completely free of nationalistic bias. It does not limit itself to the familiar material in most books on the atom, but presents much material that is not generally known except to specialists in the field. Yet because of its clear non-mathematical treatment, it can be read with full understanding as an introduction or survey for the beginning student and layman; it is also a first-rate summary for the specialist, indicating chains of development that might not have been clear to him, and formulating many difficult concepts in clear language.The book was translated from the Russian by G. Yankovsky and was first published by Foreign Languages Publishing House Moscow in 1958.PDF | OCR | 300 dpi | Bookmarked | CoverTable of ContentsChapter 1 Radioactivity................................................................. 7Becquerel’s Discovery................................................................. 7 The Properties of Radioactive Radiation .................................11 The Energy Radiated by Radium...............................................12 Alpha, Beta and Gamma Rays ...................................................15 The Properties of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Rays .................17 What Is an Alpha Particle?..........................................................20 Radium Emanation (Radon)..........................................................24The Hypothesis of Radioactive Decay........................................29 The Spinthariscope.........................................................................32 The Geiger Counter........................................................................33 The Cloud Chamber........................................................................ 37 The Photographic Method of Registering Alpha Particles . 40 The Charge of an Alpha Particle ' ............................................... 41The Decay Time of Radium and Uranium.................................42 Once More About the Energy Contained in Atoms of Radium 49 Radioactive Series........................................................................49 Isotopes . . ................................................................................... 51 Brief Summary...............................................................................57Chapter II. The Nuclear Model of the A to m .................................60Scattering of Alpha Particles......................................................60 The Experiments of Geiger and Marsden.................................61 The Static Model of the Atom ...................................................62 The Nuclear Model of the Atom .......................................... . . 64 The Relation Between the Place of an Element in Mende­leyev’s. Periodic System and the Charge of Its Nucleus 69 Measuring the Charge of the Nucleus with X-Rays 73Chapter III. The Mass of Atomic Nuclei................................... 84 Measuring the Mass of an Atom ............................................... 84Separating the Isotopes ofNeon...................................................86 3 Isotopes of Stable Elements..........................................................92 Prout’s Hypothesis........................................................................94 The Binding Energy of Nuclei ...................................................97 Methods of Separating Isotopes.................................................103 Separating the Isotopes of Hydrogen.......................................105Chapter IV. The Disintegration of Atomic Nuclei........................109Anomalous Scattering of Alpha Particles ............................... 110 The Disintegration of Nitrogen Nuclei ................................... 111The Disintegration of Other Elements ...................................114 Blackett’s Experiments............................................................... 116 Nitrogen Converted into Oxygen ..............................................118 Why Don't All Elements Disintegrate Under the Action ofAlpha Particles? .......................................................................123 The Discovery of the Neutron.....................................................125 Ways of Observing Neutrons.....................................................132 Nuclear Transformations That Produce Neutrons.....................134 Nuclear Transformations Produced by Neutrons.....................136Chapter V. The Discovery of the Positron ...................................140What Is a Positron?........................................ 140 Cosmic Rays ............................................................. 141 Skobeltsyn’s Experiments............................................................149 How Lhe Positron Was Discovered............................................. 153 The “Birth and Death” of Electrons..........................................156Chapter VI. The Artificial Transformation of Atomic Nuclei 161The First Apparatus for the Artificial Disintegration ol' Atomic Nuclei..........................................................................162 The Disintegration of Lithium .................................................167 An Experimental Verification of Einstein’s Equation 170 The Van de Graaff Generator.....................................................172 Acceleration by an Alternating Electric Field........................178 The Cyclotron ..............................................................................182 The Betatron.................................................................................186 Now Types of Charged-Particle Accelerators ..........................199Chapter VII. Artificial Radioactivity................................................205 The Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity...............................205Artificial Radioactivity Induced by Neutrons.......................... 211 Thermal Neutrons..........................................................................215Neutron Capture That Does Not Load to Radioactivity 218 Isomerism of Atomic Nuclei........................................................221 New Chemical Elements...............................................................223Chapter VIII. Mesons.......................................................................225Ionization and Radiative Losses .............................................226 Showers ........................................................................................ 232 The Discovery of the Meson........................................................235 The Lifetime of a Meson............................................................238 The Mass of Mesons.......................................................................241 Nuclear Transformations Produced by Pi-Mesons and TheTransformation of Pi- and Mu-Mesons ...............................247 Heavy Mesons ..............................................................................250 Hyperons.........................................................................................251 Again About Cosmic Rays ........................................................254Chapter IX. The Neutrino...............................................................261Beta-Ray Spectra..........................................................................261 The Pauli Hypothesis...................................................................266 K-Capture ..................................................................................... 269 Allen’s Experiments ...................................................................275Chapter X. The Structure of Atomic Nuclei and the Forces Acting Between Nuclear Particles ...........................277Are There Electrons in Atomic Nuclei?...................................277 What Are Atomic Nuclei Made o f ? ..........................................280 The Radioactivity of the Neutron.............................................284 Nuclear Forces..............................................................................287 A Model of the Nucleus...............................................................291 Nuclear Transformations Accompanied by the Ejection of Several Particles.......................................................................296Chapter XI. Nuclear Fission ........................................................ 300Neutron Capture by Uranium....................................................300 An Investigation of the Nature of the Transuranium Elements 302 The Discovery of Rare-Earth Elements Among the DecayProducts of Uranium...............................................................304 The Fission of Uranium................................................................306 Chemical Elements with Atomic: Numbers Above 92 308 Nuclear Fragments and Their Energy......................................315 Secondary Neutrons.......................................................................320 Thermal Neutrons and the Fission of Uranium .................... 324 The Spontaneous Fission of Uranium-235 Nuclei....................326Chapter XII. Nuclear Chain Reactions..........................................329The Chain Reaction.......................................................................329 The Nuclear Reactor...................................................................336 The First Soviet Uranium Reactor ..........................................339 The Atomic Bomb .......................................................................341Chapter XIII . The Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy .................347Atomic Power Stations................................................................347 Atomic Power Plants...................................................................353 Tracer Atoms and Their Use in the National Economy . . 355Chapter XIV. Thermonuclear Reactions 369The Binding Energy per Nuclear Particle 369 The Energy Liberated in Nuclear Fusion 371 Thermonuclear Reactions 373 The Hydrogen Bomb ................................................................... 378 Controlled Thermonuclear Reactions..........................................380Appendix .................................................................................. 383