A. Vertes – Handbook of Nuclear Chemistry (Second edition)

Автор: A. Vertes
Название книги: Handbook of Nuclear Chemistry (Second edition)
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Химия
Страницы: 3085
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

This revised and extended 6 volume handbook set is the most comprehensive and voluminous reference work of its kind in the field of nuclear chemistry. The Handbook set covers all of the chemical aspects of nuclear science starting from the physical basics and including such diverse areas as the chemistry of transactinides and exotic atoms as well as radioactive waste management and radiopharmaceutical chemistry relevant to nuclear medicine. The nuclear methods of the investigation of chemical structure also receive ample space and attention.

The international team of authors consists of scores of world-renowned experts – nuclear chemists, radiopharmaceutical chemists and physicists – from Europe, USA, and Asia. The Handbook set is an invaluable reference for nuclear scientists, biologists, chemists, physicists, physicians practicing nuclear medicine, graduate students and teachers – virtually all who are involved in the chemical and radiopharmaceutical aspects of nuclear science.

The Future of Nuclear Energy and Research
New ideas are hard to accept; popular mistrust and opposition often hinder the exploration
and application of new sciences and technologies. We have to look only at the work and
struggle of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, among many others, to realize what obstacles there
were in their paths.
There can be no question that nuclear energy will become more important in the future
in spite of the fact that there is general opposition toward the use of this form of energy.
Conventional energy sources will soon become less available. Oil and gas are becoming more
expensive and no great reserves appear to be available. Coal supplies are likely to last longer but
I expect it to become more expensive even within this century. The other sources, like
hydroelectricity, solar energy and geothermal energy will be in many cases important, but
they will remain local and limited. I firmly expect that the source that will become of lasting and
general importance for the world is nuclear energy.
As we see it at the present, uranium will remain a satisfactory energy source for the third
millennium. Energy from thorium (by transformation into uranium 233) is likely to remain
available even longer. One obstacle appears to remain: fear of radioactivity. My main point is
that the fear is not justified.
Consider the damage in the last few decades due to the use of nuclear reactors, divided by
the amount of available energy produced. Two well-known examples of such damage are at
Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979, and even more at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union
in 1986. Both of these were caused by human error. At Three Mile Island, the economic damage
was great, but there was hardly any effect on health. In Chernobyl, the effect on human health
was considerable, but still small compared to the publicity it generated.
The main problem in nuclear energy is the fight against hysteria. I hope and believe that
ways will be found to overcome such hysteria. I want to make just one recommendation.
In developing nuclear energy for the future, primary emphasis should be given to one problem
with double aspect. One aspect is safety of future nuclear reactors; the other is the public
understanding of this safety. This is the field in which innovations are most necessary.
For this, we need three things: one is careful planning and operation of nuclear energy
production; other improvements in nuclear energy production will be made, but these are
unimportant compared to the needed improvements in safety. The second point is the review
of past damage in all phases connected with nuclear energy. The third and most important part
is the work for and execution of plans for the use of nuclear energy for the whole world,
advanced and underdeveloped, with primary emphasis on safety and objective reporting.
An important part of all this is widespread understanding of a field that is novel, but
basically not particularly difficult to understand. This major five-volume publication is
exceedingly useful for further research, understanding and application of the chemical aspect
of nuclear science.

In the twentieth century, 57Nobel Prizes honored the chemical and physical results achieved by
theoreticians and experimenters who can be rightly called nuclear scientists. This number alone
proves that nuclear science was recognized as one of the most powerful engines pushing science
to new heights in the past century, often referred to as the Nuclear Age.
It is interesting to mention that until the middle of the twentieth century, the ratio of Nobel
Prizes that honored nuclear results was 2:1 for physics and chemistry.However, after 1950, only
two chemical results were awarded by this prize: E. M. McMillan and G. T. Seaborg for the
production of 93Np and 94Pu in 1951, and W. F. Libby for working out the 14C age determination
in archeology and geophysics in 1960. R.S. Yalow was honored by the Nobel Prize in
1977 for a medical result. She developed the radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones. All
other Nobel Prizes for nuclear results were awarded in the field of physics. The Nobel Prizes
achieved by nuclear scientists are listed in >Table 1.
A correlation between the period of the research work and the date of the award is
demonstrated in >Fig. 1.
One needs little imagination to foretell that the flagships of science will be informatics and
biology in the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, there are many signs making us firmly believe
that nuclear science will remain important in the future as well, in spite of the antinuclear
sentiments caused by the unfortunate Chernobyl accident in 1986. Radiopharmaceutical
chemistry is stimulating biomedical research and nuclear medicine (diagnosis and therapy).
The development of particle physics keeps its dynamism as demonstrated by the Nobel Prizes
awarded in this century (2002, 2004, and 2008.)

The chapter Nuclear and Radiochemistry – the First 100 Years, dealing with the history of
nuclear chemistry, was updated by Professors Friedlander andHerrmann in the Fall of 2008 and in
the Spring of 2009. Alas, it was submitted for the 2nd edition by ProfessorHerrmann alone because
Professor Friedlander died on September 6, 2009.Gerhart Friedlander was born on July 28, 1916, in
Munich. He was a veteran of the Manhattan Project and a pioneer of nuclear chemistry who later
exploited the first particle accelerators to do major research as head of the chemistry department at
Brookhaven National Laboratory. Many of us, nuclear chemists, used one of Professor
Friedlander’s monographs to learn the basics of this field of science (e.g., Friedlander G, Kennedy
JW, Macias ES, Miller JM (1981) Nuclear and radiochemistry. Wiley, New York). We warmly
suggest that those whowish to get a bird’s eye viewof the field of nuclear science should read the
chapter Nuclear and Radiochemistry – the First 100 Years. They will find it not only enjoyable as
a ‘story’ but also useful as a guide to all themain areas of interest, heights, crossroads, and the paths
connecting the individual spots of the landscape underneath.
The editors acknowledge the valuable work of Professor Ga´bor L. Molna´r who conceptualized
and edited all the appendixes of the first edition. He died on January 6, 2004, and he
could not see and enjoy the success of his work as a part of the Handbook ofNuclear Chemistry.
We are sure that Ga´bor L. Molna´ r’s work, which is mostly integrated into the 2nd edition as
well, remains an important contribution to the mission of the Handbook of Nuclear
Chemistry.
The 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution that 2011 would be
the Year of Chemistry. The motivation was that Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize of
Chemistry a century ago, in 1911. This prize honored results achieved in the field of radio- and
nuclear chemistry. It is a great pleasure for us that the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Nuclear
Chemistry can welcome the start of the Year of Chemistry.