Frederick Soddy (1877–1956)

Frederick Soddy (1877–1956)
Author: George B. Kauffman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 940095297X

On August 18, 1977 a special 'Soddy Session' was held at the Fifteenth International Congress of the History of Science, Edinburgh, Scotland, with Dr. Thaddeus J. Trenn as Symposium Chairman. This session was organized to commemorate the lOOth anniversary of the birth of Fre derick Soddy (born September 2, 1877, Eastbourne, England; died September 22, 1956, Brighton, England), who was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 'for his contributions to our knowledge of the chemistry of radioactive substances, and his investigations into the origin and nature of isotopes'. Soddy taught and/or carried out research at Oxford University (where he was Lee's Professor of Chemistry), McGill University (where he and Sir Ernest Rutherford proposed the disintegration theory of radioactivity), University College, London (where he and Sir William Ramsay demonstrated natural transmuta tion), Glasgow University (where he formulated his displacement law and concept of isotopes), llnd Aberdeen University. In addition to his contributions to radiochemistry, he proposed a number of controversial economic, social, and political theories. The present volume contains the eight lectures presented at the symposium, two additional papers written especially for this volume (Kauffman, Chapter 4 and Krivomazov, Chapter 6), a paper on Soddy's economic thought (Daly, Chapter 11), and three selections from Soddy's works. Furthermore, an introductory account of Soddy's life and work by Thaddeus J. Trenn as well as a Soddy chronology, and name and subject indexes compiled by the editor are provided.

Detecting Environmental Radioactivity

Detecting Environmental Radioactivity
Author: Manuel García-León
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 637
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3031099702

This textbook presents the principles and methods for the measurement of radioactivity in the environment. In this regard, specific low-level radiation counting and spectrometry or mass spectrometry techniques are discussed, including sources, distribution, levels and dynamics of radioactivity in nature. The author gives an accurate description of the fundamental concepts and laws of radioactivity as well as the different types of detectors and mass spectrometers needed for detection. Special attention is paid to scintillators, semiconductor detectors, and gas ionization detectors. In order to explain radiochemistry, some concepts about chemical separations are introduced as well. The book is meant for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in physics, chemistry or engineering oriented to environmental sciences, and to other disciplines where monitoring of the environment and its management is of great interest.