Preface
We are glad to learn that this book has been appreciated by readers so much that its
2nd edition is published. In this 2nd edition, we have added some new topics
considering the syllabus of the M.Sc. course dealing with Nuclear Chemistry like
the Shell model, fission/fusion reaction, natural radioactive equilibrium series,
nuclear reactions carried out by various types of accelerators, etc. It is hoped that
this 2nd edition will be appreciated by readers and graduate and postgraduate
students.
It has been our experience that students of different disciplines desirous of using
the tracer technique face the problem of selecting an isotope most suitable for their
work. Having selected the isotope, the next problem they face is in selecting the
type of counter, type of source sample, duration for which the counting must be
made, and selecting the radiation emitted by the isotope for its efficient detection.
This book is an effort toward guiding the readers on these aspects. Though there are
many books available on this topic, they are either very advanced or very elementary. Students have, therefore, been requesting the author for many years to
write a book of this nature. This book is, thus, an outcome of the lectures given to
Engineering and Science graduate and postgraduate students who have had very
little exposure to the field of radioactivity. It has been tried to explain topics from
the experience the author gained while teaching this subject in England and India.
The author has also given a few results obtained by him while developing some
experiments for students studying this course.
It has been the experience that students often resort to memorizing the decay
process without actually understanding the logic of various decay processes.
Similarly, it is observed that students invariably select a counting procedure without
understanding the reasons behind its selection. A novel concept is, therefore,
developed to explain not only the decay processes but also the selection of counting
procedures for the detection and measurement of radioactivity. It is hoped that
students would get an exposure to select the counting procedures rather than simply
getting bookish knowledge of the subject. This book, thus, concentrates on the
techniques concerned with the detection and measurement of radioactivity.
However, in order to appreciate the subject, an introduction to properties of
ix
We are glad to learn that this book has been appreciated by readers so much that its
2nd edition is published. In this 2nd edition, we have added some new topics
considering the syllabus of the M.Sc. course dealing with Nuclear Chemistry like
the Shell model, fission/fusion reaction, natural radioactive equilibrium series,
nuclear reactions carried out by various types of accelerators, etc. It is hoped that
this 2nd edition will be appreciated by readers and graduate and postgraduate
students.
It has been our experience that students of different disciplines desirous of using
the tracer technique face the problem of selecting an isotope most suitable for their
work. Having selected the isotope, the next problem they face is in selecting the
type of counter, type of source sample, duration for which the counting must be
made, and selecting the radiation emitted by the isotope for its efficient detection.
This book is an effort toward guiding the readers on these aspects. Though there are
many books available on this topic, they are either very advanced or very elementary. Students have, therefore, been requesting the author for many years to
write a book of this nature. This book is, thus, an outcome of the lectures given to
Engineering and Science graduate and postgraduate students who have had very
little exposure to the field of radioactivity. It has been tried to explain topics from
the experience the author gained while teaching this subject in England and India.
The author has also given a few results obtained by him while developing some
experiments for students studying this course.
It has been the experience that students often resort to memorizing the decay
process without actually understanding the logic of various decay processes.
Similarly, it is observed that students invariably select a counting procedure without
understanding the reasons behind its selection. A novel concept is, therefore,
developed to explain not only the decay processes but also the selection of counting
procedures for the detection and measurement of radioactivity. It is hoped that
students would get an exposure to select the counting procedures rather than simply
getting bookish knowledge of the subject. This book, thus, concentrates on the
techniques concerned with the detection and measurement of radioactivity.
However, in order to appreciate the subject, an introduction to properties of
ix