Tracing uranium's past--and how it intersects with our understanding of other radioactive elements--Chain Reactions aims to enlighten readers and refresh our attitudes about the atomic world.

Chain Reactions looks at the fascinating, often-forgotten stories that can be found throughout the history of uranium. From glassworks to penny stocks; from medicines to atomic weapons; from something to be feared to a powerful source of energy, this global history explores the scientific narrative of this unique element, but also shines a light on its cultural and social impact.

By understanding our nuclear past, we can move beyond the ideological opposition to technologies and encourage a more nuanced dialogue about whether it is feasible--and desirable--to have a genuinely nuclear-powered future.

The purpose of Understanding Radiation Science: Basic Nuclear and Health Physics is to provide the reader a basic understanding of radiation science. Therefore, basic nuclear physics and health physics principles are presented through chapters on atomic structure, types of radiation, terminology and units, radiation biology, exposure and controls, background radiation, personnel monitoring, and radiation instrumentation. The book concludes with chapters on historical events and definitions. This book provides introductory information for students starting their education in nuclear physics, health physics and nuclear engineering. The material covered in this book is appropriate for all types of radiation workers. Persons studying to take the health physics certification exam, radiation protection technologist exam, or the certifying examinations to become radiologic technologists, radiation therapy technologists, ultrasound technologists, or nuclear medicine technologists will find this information most useful.

The fascinating science and history of radiation

More than ever before, radiation is a part of our modern daily lives. We own radiation-emitting phones, regularly get diagnostic x-rays, such as mammograms, and submit to full-body security scans at airports. We worry and debate about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the safety of nuclear power plants. But how much do we really know about radiation? And what are its actual dangers? An accessible blend of narrative history and science, Strange Glow describes mankind's extraordinary, thorny relationship with radiation, including the hard-won lessons of how radiation helps and harms our health. Timothy Jorgensen explores how our knowledge of and experiences with radiation in the last century can lead us to smarter personal decisions about radiation exposures today.

Jorgensen introduces key figures in the story of radiation--from Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x-rays, and pioneering radioactivity researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, to Thomas Edison and the victims of the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Tracing the most important events in the evolution of radiation, Jorgensen explains exactly what radiation is, how it produces certain health consequences, and how we can protect ourselves from harm. He also considers a range of practical scenarios such as the risks of radon in our basements, radiation levels in the fish we eat, questions about cell-phone use, and radiation's link to cancer. Jorgensen empowers us to make informed choices while offering a clearer understanding of broader societal issues.

Investigating radiation's benefits and risks, Strange Glow takes a remarkable look at how, for better or worse, radiation has transformed our society.

A comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding how radiation affects our everyday lives

Nuclear energy, X-rays, radon, cell phones . . . radiation is part of the way we live on a daily basis, and yet the sources and repercussions of our exposure to it remain mysterious. Now Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wayne Biddle offers a first-of-its-kind guide to understanding this fundamental aspect of the universe. From fallout to radiation poisoning, alpha particles to cosmic rays, Biddle illuminates the history, meaning, and health implications of one hundred scientific terms in succinct, witty essays. A Field Guide to Radiation is an essential, engaging handbook that offers wisdom and common sense for today's increasingly nuclear world.

This new edition summarizes the data and techniques for hypofractionation and stereotactic radiation in a clinically-accessible way. Hypofractionated radiation therapy, which consists of larger-dose radiation treatments that are given over a shorter time period compared to conventional radiation fraction sizes, is used to treat a variety of cancers, including prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal. Conventional radiation therapy and hypofractionated radiation therapy often have different effectiveness rates for cancer treatment and have different impacts on normal tissues in terms of causing toxicity. There is a significant and continually evolving body of literature on the use of different dosing regimens to treat a variety of cancers, and radiation oncologists need to keep up with the various dosing schedules, the effect of each regimen on cancer control in different cancers, and how the different schedules affect each organ in terms of toxicity.

This book provides concise, up-to-date information ranging from commonly-used dose-fractionation schemes for hypofractionated and stereotactic body radiotherapy to simulation and treatment specifications to published safety and efficacy data. Chapters additionally examine the biological rationales for the efficacy of hypofractionated radiation; present clinical studies that demonstrate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated radiation treatment in a variety of cancers; and describe the advances in technology that have allowed hypofractionated radiation to be safely given. All chapters are fully revised with the latest treatments and updated effectiveness and toxicity of previously discussed treatments, all based on recent clinical trials and large analytical studies.

This is an ideal guide for radiation oncology clinicians and trainees.

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.

What is the true story of one of the twentieth century's greatest disasters?

Do you know how the security system of a nuclear power plant is made?

What have been the consequences for the world since then and the future?

Which countries have suffered other nuclear accidents?

If you want to know all the Chernobyl disaster background, then this is the book you absolutely must read

BUY NOW CHERNOBYL - History's Worst Nuclear Accident. The True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Disasters

This book contains all the details of that fateful day, April 26, 1986.

You will find:

- The real dynamics of the accident;

- The technical aspects of the accident and why it occurred;

- The Government declarations;

- The wrong emergency response;

- The evacuation management;

- The investigations;

- The negative consequences for the area, future, and world.

This book is not a simple summary of an event, but a complete report with all details and testimonies, as told by the survivors.

The purpose of Understanding Radiation Science: Basic Nuclear and Health Physics is to provide the reader a basic understanding of radiation science. Therefore, basic nuclear physics and health physics principles are presented through chapters on atomic structure, types of radiation, terminology and units, radiation biology, exposure and controls, background radiation, personnel monitoring, and radiation instrumentation. The book concludes with chapters on historical events and definitions. This book provides introductory information for students starting there education in nuclear physics, health physics and nuclear engineering. The material covered in this book is appropriate for all types of radiation workers. Persons studying to take the health physics certification exam, radiation protection technologist exam, or the certifying examinations to become radiologic technologist, radiation therapy technologists, ultrasound technologists, or nuclear medicine technologists will find this information most useful.

Pioneering scientist and winner of two Nobel Prizes Marie Curie describes in this interesting firsthand account the painstaking laboratory research that led to her discovery of radium and other radioactive substances. This groundbreaking work in the area of natural radioactivity, done in partnership with her husband, Pierre Curie, proved to be an important milestone in understanding the structure of matter.Born Marie Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland, she emigrated to Paris at the age of twenty-four and enrolled in the Sorbonne after being refused admission by the University of Warsaw because she was a woman. In France she met her husband, a fellow scientist, and together they conducted the laboratory investigations on radioactive substances that would later make them famous. 1903 was a banner year for both of them. Based on her work with radium she earned a doctorate of science, and their joint research was awarded the Davy Medal from the Royal Society. Then in the same year Marie and Pierre, along with Henri Becquerel, shared the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of radioactivity.When Pierre died tragically in 1906 from an automobile accident, Marie was appointed by the Sorbonne to fill his professorship, and thus she became the first female member of the faculty in the 650-year history of the university. Despite the great loss of her husband and the burden of having to raise two daughters alone, Marie carried on the work that she and Pierre had begun. In 1910, her fundamental treatise on radioactivity was published, and in 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of pure radium.Unfortunately, her many years of close work with radioactive substances eventually had deleterious health consequences and finally in 1934 she died of leukemia. This story of her work, told in her own words, reveals a courageous and dedicated scientist who gave everything for the advance of science.

On a calm afternoon in March 2011, a force-nine earthquake jolted the Pacific Ocean seabed east of Japan. Forty minutes later, a tsunami 21 metres high crashed onto the coast of Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Towns collapsed, villages were destroyed, and 16,000 people were swept away. The earthquake and tsunami also resulted in another terrifying calamity -- explosions and meltdowns at a nuclear plant near the city of Fukushima.

Fallout from Fukushima tells the story of Japan's worst nuclear disaster, and the attempts to suppress, downplay, and obscure its consequences. Former diplomat Richard Broinowski travelled into the irradiated zone to speak to those affected and to find out why authorities delayed warning the public about the severity of the radiation. Combining interviews, research, and analysis, he reveals the extent of the disaster's consequences: the ruinous compensation claims faced by electricity supplier TEPCO; the complete shutdown of Japan's nuclear reactors; and the psychological impact on those who, unable to return to their farms and villages, may become permanent nuclear refugees.

In this illuminating and persuasive account, Broinowski puts this nuclear tragedy in context, tracing the path back through Tokyo, Three Mile Island, and Chernobyl. Examining what the disaster will mean for the international nuclear industry, he explores why some countries are abandoning nuclear power, while others -- including Australia, through its export of uranium -- continue to put their faith in this dangerous technology.

In this book the characteristics of synchrotron radiation, including insertion device radiation, are described and derived from first principles. The reader is first introduced to the subject in an intuitive way in order to gain familiarity with the underlying physical processes. A rigorous mathematical derivation of the theory follows. Since the characteristics of synchrotron radiation are intimately connected with the parameters of the electron beam and its accelerator, a basic introduction to electron beam dynamics and accelerator design is included. The book is aimed at graduate students and scientists working with synchrotron radiation.

Known for its comprehensive coverage and up-to-date literature citations, this classic text provides students and instructors with the most complete coverage available of radiation detection and measurement.

Over the decade that has passed since the publication of the 3rd edition, technical developments continue to enhance the instruments and techniques available for the detection and spectroscopy of ionizing radiation. The Fourth Edition of this invaluable resource incorporates the latest developments and cutting-edge technologies to make this the most up-to-date guide to the field available:

? Covers many new materials that are emerging as scintillators that can achieve energy resolution that is better by a factor of two compared with traditional materials

? Presents new material on ROC curves, micropattern gas detectors, new sensors for scintillation light, thick film semiconductors, and digital techniques in detector pulse processing

? Includes updated discussions on TLDs, neutron detectors, cryogenic spectrometers, radiation backgrounds, and the VME instrumentation standard

A flash of light, a blast of heat and wind, and part of the city is vaporized into a mushroom cloud that contaminates the atmosphere.We have seen the movie version of a nuclear attack. The reality of a nuclear terrorist attack is more survivable.Based on this book, you will be able to select the best shelter option immediately and with the personal radiation detector, know how long to remain. If you become contaminated you will learn how to decontaminate and neutralize the radiation. We have included the government rescue guidelines so that you will know if you can anticipate any assistance. It is likely after reading this book, you will know as much about potential neutralization and decontamination remedies as most disaster personnel. The following chapters are included: Health Effects of Radiation Exposure Radiation Exposure, Nuclear Waste and Accidents, Nuclear Weapon Testing and Production, Nuclear Weapon Attack, Radiation Neutralizers, Fallout Exposure, Shelter, Decontamination of the Environment, Measuring Radiation, The Government Role, The Damage Zones, Survival Shelter Ventilation, Survival Shelter Supplies, EMP and Radiation - the Double Disaster, andNatural Radon.

This book describes in detail the relationship between radiometry and photometry. It covers information needed to solve problems in radiation transfer and detection, detectors, measuring instruments, and concepts in colorimetry.

This monograph provides an accessible introduction to the theory, and the large-scale simulation methods currently used in radiation hydrodynamics, the study of the dynamics of matter interacting with radiation, when the radiation is strong enough to have a profound effect on the matter. Radiation hydrodynamics applies to normal stars, exploding stars or stars with violent winds, active galaxies, and on Earth wherever matter is very hot. The volume is a valuable text for research scientists and graduate students in physics and astrophysics.

Synchrotron radiation is an important research tool for many areas of particle physics. This book explains the underlying physics which determines radiation properties, presenting these properties in easily applicable equations and figures. It describes the general radiation and its interaction with electrons and is a valuable reference for scientists in the field.

In this book the characteristics of synchrotron radiation, including insertion device radiation, are described and derived from first principles. The reader is first introduced to the subject in an intuitive way in order to gain familiarity with the underlying physical processes. A rigorous mathematical derivation of the theory follows. Since the characteristics of synchrotron radiation are intimately connected with the parameters of the electron beam and its accelerator, a basic introduction to electron beam dynamics and accelerator design is included. The book is aimed at graduate students and scientists working with synchrotron radiation.

The universe was born in a nuclear explosion. We live on a radioactive planet. Without radiation there would be not life. And yet radiation remains deeply misunderstood and often mistakenly feared. Now Dr. Robert Peter Gale--one of the world's leading experts on the subject--and Eric Lax set the record straight about subjects like uranium, plutonium, iodine-131, X-Rays, CT scans, and the radiation of food, while lucidly debunking myths about radioactivity. In this fascinating book, the authors explore the science, benefits, and risks of radiation exposure, drawing on the most up-to-date research and Gale's extensive experience treating victims of radiation accidents around the globe. Here is an illuminating and essential guide to our post-Chernobyl, post-Fukushima world.

RADIOACTIVE CLOUDS OF DEATH OVER UTAH

From 1950 to the 1958 moratorium on atmospheric testing, the Atomic Energy Commission detonated over 100 atomic bombs at the Nevada Test Site. The inhabitants of St. George, Utah--the so-called downwinders--were repeatedly in the fly zone of these toxic, windblown clouds--so much so that St. George became known nationwide as Fallout City, USA.

In the fall of 1979, Stewart Udall, along with a team of lawyers, came to St. George to announce plans for a class-action lawsuit against the United States because the local people were struggling with tragedies inflicted by a cancer epidemic foisted on them by the Atomic Energy Commission. After interviewing 125 people during a four-day period, the Washington lawyer said that cancer rates in the area were three or four times greater than normal.

Many people in southwestern Utah believe that thousands of citizens throughout the West are still dying from radiation-exposure inflicted on them by fallout from the Nevada Test Site during the 1950s.

The author has spent decades investigating the Test Site issues. He was living in St. George, Utah during the atmospheric testing period in the 1950s. He knows the people. He has read every local paper from the period, counted the tombstones, tracked the anecdotes to ground and studied the dozens of scientific studies on the impact of fallout on the health of the local people. This book is the result of that investigation.

The author, Dr. Daniel W. Miles, Professor Emeritus, Dixie State College, received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 1967. He taught upper division physics including radiation physics at Westminster College from 1968 to 1985 and continued his teaching career at Dixie State College. He is the author or coauthor of fortytwo publications in peer reviewed scientific journals.