The chemist studies the composition of substances.
For centuries man has known that various combinations and
recombinations of substances produce other materials with different
properties, and it is the chemist who combines and recombines.
A nuclear chemist, or radiochemist, specializes just as his name
implies. He studies the effects of radiation on chemical substances,
notes how chemical reactions are altered by the introduction of
radioactivity, and analyzes the nature of nuclear energy materials and
products.
When an experiment or a scientific application requires a purified
compound, the chemist goes to work. When a substance is to be altered
so that it takes on a different form, the chemist takes over. He
develops better fuels for automobiles and space craft, better fibers
for shirts and parachutes, better plastics for kitchens and
submarines.