[1]For a description of how these will work, see _Controlled Nuclear
Fusion_, another booklet in this series.
[2]These devices, which will be frequently mentioned later in these
pages, are described in detail in a companion booklet _Power from
Radioisotopes_.
[3]See _Nuclear Reactors_, another booklet in this series, for a
description of the fission process and how reactors operate.
[4]For a full discussion of other aspects of this topic, see _Fallout
from Nuclear Tests_, another booklet in this series.
[5]For a full discussion of this topic, and the safety measures taken by
the AEC in connection with it, see _Radioactive Wastes_, another
booklet in this series.
[6]Radioisotopes, unstable forms of ordinary atoms, are distinguishable
by reason of their radioactivity, not by their biological or
chemical activity.
[7]The time in which half of the atoms in a quantity of radioactive
material lose their radioactivity.
[8]For more details of these studies, see _Atoms, Nature, and Man_, a
companion booklet in this series.
[9]Gamma rays are high-energy electromagnetic radiation, similar to X
rays, originating in the nuclei of radioactive atoms.
[10]Instruments that detect and measure radiation by recording the
number of light flashes or scintillations produced by the radiation
in plastic or other sensitive materials.
[11]A method involving use of nuclear reactors or accelerators for
identifying extremely small amounts of material. See _Neutron
Activation Analysis_, a companion booklet in this series.
[12]A picogram is one trillionth (10⁻¹²) of a gram.
[13]For an explanation of how similar instruments work, see
_Radioisotopes in Industry_, a companion booklet in this series.
[14]For a discussion of proposed nuclear merchant submarines, see
_Nuclear Power and Merchant Shipping_, another booklet in this
series.
[15]These are described in _Power Reactors in Small Packages_, another
booklet in this series.
[16]See _Power from Radioisotopes_, a companion booklet in this series,
for a more complete discussion of radioisotopes in use.
[17]For an explanation of how these will function, see _Nuclear Energy
for Desalting_, another booklet in this series.
[18]See _Food Preservation by Irradiation_, another booklet in this
series, for a full account of this installation.
[19]Details are described in _Plowshare_, another booklet in this
series.
This booklet is one of the “Understanding the Atom” Series. Comments are
invited on this booklet and others in the series; please send them to
the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission,
Washington, D. C. 20545.
Published as part of the AEC’s educational assistance program, the
series includes these titles:
_Accelerators_
_Animals in Atomic Research_
_Atomic Fuel_
_Atomic Power Safety_
_Atoms at the Science Fair_
_Atoms in Agriculture_
_Atoms, Nature, and Man_
_Books on Atomic Energy for Adults and Children_
_Careers in Atomic Energy_
_Computers_
_Controlled Nuclear Fusion_
_Cryogenics, The Uncommon Cold_
_Direct Conversion of Energy_
_Fallout From Nuclear Tests_
_Food Preservation by Irradiation_
_Genetic Effects of Radiation_
_Index to the UAS Series_
_Lasers_
_Microstructure of Matter_
_Neutron Activation Analysis_
_Nondestructive Testing_
_Nuclear Clocks_
_Nuclear Energy for Desalting_
_Nuclear Power and Merchant Shipping_
_Nuclear Power Plants_
_Nuclear Propulsion for Space_
_Nuclear Reactors_
_Nuclear Terms, A Brief Glossary_
_Our Atomic World_
_Plowshare_
_Plutonium_
_Power from Radioisotopes_
_Power Reactors in Small Packages_
_Radioactive Wastes_
_Radioisotopes and Life Processes_
_Radioisotopes in Industry_
_Radioisotopes in Medicine_
_Rare Earths_
_Research Reactors_
_SNAP, Nuclear Space Reactors_
_Sources of Nuclear Fuel_
_Space Radiation_
_Spectroscopy_
_Synthetic Transuranium Elements_
_The Atom and the Ocean_
_The Chemistry of the Noble Gases_
_The Elusive Neutrino_
_The First Reactor_
_The Natural Radiation Environment_
_Whole Body Counters_
_Your Body and Radiation_
A single copy of any one booklet, or of no more than three different
booklets, may be obtained free by writing to: