In this post we will see the book, The Atomic Nuclues by M. Korsunsky.
About the book:
(from the Dover print of 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 | Cover
I dedicate this post to one of my teachers who told me about this book. He read this book in the 60s, got inspired and eventually did research in nuclear physics.
The Internet Archive Link
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Radioactivity……………………………………………………….. 7
Becquerel’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)………………………………………………….24
The 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 ‘ ……………………………………….. 41
The 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…………………………………………………………………….57
Chapter II. The Nuclear Model of the A to m ……………………………60
Scattering 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 73
Chapter III. The Mass of Atomic Nuclei…………………………….. 84
Measuring the Mass of an Atom ……………………………………….. 84
Separating 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…………………………………105
Chapter IV. The Disintegration of Atomic Nuclei……………………109
Anomalous Scattering of Alpha Particles …………………………. 110
The Disintegration of Nitrogen Nuclei …………………………….. 111
The Disintegration of Other Elements ……………………………..114
Blackett’s Experiments……………………………………………………… 116
Nitrogen Converted into Oxygen ……………………………………….118
Why Don’t All Elements Disintegrate Under the Action of
Alpha Particles? ……………………………………………………………..123
The Discovery of the Neutron……………………………………………..125
Ways of Observing Neutrons……………………………………………..132
Nuclear Transformations That Produce Neutrons…………………134
Nuclear Transformations Produced by Neutrons…………………136
Chapter V. The Discovery of the Positron ……………………………..140
What Is a Positron?…………………………………. 140
Cosmic Rays ……………………………………………………. 141
Skobeltsyn’s Experiments……………………………………………………149
How Lhe Positron Was Discovered……………………………………… 153
The “Birth and Death” of Electrons……………………………………156
Chapter VI. The Artificial Transformation of Atomic Nuclei 161
The 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 ……………………..199
Chapter VII. Artificial Radioactivity…………………………………………205
The Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity………………………….205
Artificial Radioactivity Induced by Neutrons…………………….. 211
Thermal Neutrons………………………………………………………………..215
Neutron Capture That Does Not Load to Radioactivity 218
Isomerism of Atomic Nuclei………………………………………………..221
New Chemical Elements………………………………………………………223
Chapter VIII. Mesons……………………………………………………………..225
Ionization 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 The
Transformation of Pi- and Mu-Mesons ………………………….247
Heavy Mesons ……………………………………………………………………250 Hyperons……………………………………………………………………………..251
Again About Cosmic Rays ………………………………………………..254
Chapter IX. The Neutrino………………………………………………………261
Beta-Ray Spectra………………………………………………………………..261
The Pauli Hypothesis………………………………………………………….266
K-Capture …………………………………………………………………………. 269
Allen’s Experiments ………………………………………………………….275
Chapter X. The Structure of Atomic Nuclei and the Forces Acting Between Nuclear Particles ………………………277
Are 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……………………………………………………………..296
Chapter XI. Nuclear Fission ……………………………………………….. 300
Neutron Capture by Uranium…………………………………………….300
An Investigation of the Nature of the Transuranium Elements 302
The Discovery of Rare-Earth Elements Among the Decay
Products 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………………..326
Chapter XII. Nuclear Chain Reactions……………………………………329
The Chain Reaction……………………………………………………………..329
The Nuclear Reactor………………………………………………………….336
The First Soviet Uranium Reactor ……………………………………339
The Atomic Bomb ……………………………………………………………..341
Chapter XIII . The Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy ……………..347
Atomic Power Stations……………………………………………………….347
Atomic Power Plants………………………………………………………….353
Tracer Atoms and Their Use in the National Economy . . 355
Chapter XIV. Thermonuclear Reactions 369
The Binding Energy per Nuclear Particle 369
The Energy Liberated in Nuclear Fusion 371
Thermonuclear Reactions 373
The Hydrogen Bomb …………………………………………………………. 378
Controlled Thermonuclear Reactions……………………………………380
Appendix ………………………………………………………………………. 383
