THE GREEKS WERE CURIOUS ABOUT MATTER 1
THE ATOMIC THEORY IS CONFIRMED 2
CATHODE RAYS SHOW ATOMS CONTAIN SMALLER PARTS 3
RADIOACTIVE ATOMS DISCOVERED 5
RUTHERFORD FINDS THE ATOMIC NUCLEUS 6
THE PROTON IS RECOGNIZED 8
ISOTOPES ARE DISCOVERED 9
THE ALCHEMISTS’ DREAM COMES TRUE 10
SOME PARTICLES HAVE NO ELECTRIC CHARGE 13
MATTER IS ENERGY; ENERGY IS MATTER 14
NUCLEI CONTAIN ENERGY 15
CHRONOLOGY 18
FISSION IS EXPLAINED 20
THE FISSION BOMB IS EXPLODED 23
NUCLEAR ENERGY IS NEEDED FOR THE FUTURE 25
FUSION HAS POTENTIAL 26
ISOTOPES HAVE MANY USES 29
RADIOISOTOPES AT WORK 30
THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION 31
TOWARD AN INTERNATIONAL ATOM 33
SUGGESTED REFERENCES 35
United States Atomic Energy Commission
Division of Technical Information
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-64918
1963; 1964 (Rev.)
[Illustration: The cover is a time-exposed photograph of an animated
model of a uranium-235 atom. The center represents the nucleus,
greatly exaggerated in size. The fine lines represent the electrons
whirling about the nucleus.
Courtesy Union Carbide Corporation]
C. JACKSON CRAVEN is a teacher’s teacher as well as a student’s teacher,
and has had an active career aiding understanding of atomic energy as a
member of the University of Tennessee faculty and on the staff of the
Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. He has conducted short courses
to instruct groups of high school science teachers in nuclear energy,
and has served in a key capacity in training Institute
demonstration-lecturers who visit high schools throughout the nation.
Dr. Craven worked during World War II for the Manhattan Project, which
built the first atomic bomb. He earned bachelor’s and graduate degrees
at the University of North Carolina, and later taught physics and
mathematics at Delta State Teachers College and at Furman and Emory
Universities.
His research interests include infrared spectroscopy, gaseous diffusion
through porous media, and the physical properties of fibers.