G. Hevesy. Radioactive Indicators, 539 pp. Translated from English, Foreign Literature Publishing House, Moscow, 1950.

W. Siri. Isotopic Tracers and Nuclear Radiations, 653 pp., McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1949.

To the ever-growing list of books on labeled atoms two more books have now been added. In a certain sense the monographs under review are complementary: the physical side of the question is more fully covered in Siri’s book, the biological side in Hevesy’s book.

Hevesy’s Radioactive Indicators—Hevesy being one of the pioneers of the labeled-atom method—is intended primarily for biologists and physicians. More than three quarters of the book are devoted to a consideration of various studies in pathology, biochemistry, and the physiology of humans and animals. The very fact that a large number of the most diverse questions are brought together in one book is curious; they have in common only that in solving them one and the same experimental method was used—the method of radioactive indicators. In the author’s opinion, the appearance of such a book is justified by the novelty of the method and its ever-increasing popularity. The author himself, however, notes that in the future, apparently, it will be advisable to combine results obtained by the isotope method into appropriate manuals on individual special questions.

The first, essentially introductory, part of the book is devoted to physical questions. This part is written unsuccessfully. The material is selected without any general plan—a whole series of secondary questions is considered, while many questions of decisive importance for understanding the radioactive method (the properties of radioactive substances and their radiations, etc.) are not considered at all.

Chapter I describes methods for preparing a number of radioisotopes—a question of almost no practical interest to biologists. From the very first page the author puts into circulation the entire arsenal of nuclear jargon: cyclotron, nuclear boilers, neutron capture, radiochemical yield, K-capture, internal conversion, and similar terms mercilessly bombard the unfortunate reader (the biologist), but nowhere does the author consider it necessary to rescue him with a friendly explanation.

Chapter I also sets out such questions, not directly related to the problem under discussion, as the concentration of radioactive elements by electrical methods, the enrichment of radioactive metals, and the separation of nuclear isomers.

Chapter II gives a table of radioactive isotopes used as indicators. Chapter III—Determination of Radioactivity—is the largest of the “physical” chapters. The choice and order of presentation of the material in this chapter also cannot be regarded as successful. Thus, for example, the author first sets out methods for measuring a number of isotopes, discussing the features of the counters used for these purposes, and only several paragraphs later gives an elementary general description of Geiger–Müller counters and their properties.

Two short chapters, IV and V, are devoted to exchange reactions and to the use of radioactive isotopes in chemical analysis. The remaining seven chapters are purely biological. They set out studies on the absorption and distribution of elements in various organisms, on the investigation of various questions of metabolism, etc.

For physicists and even for chemists working with labeled atoms, Hevesy’s book, in our opinion, is not of great interest.

The second book under review was written by a group of specialists under the general editorship of Siri. It consists of three parts. Part One—Isotopes and Nuclear Radiations. The corresponding chapters are: Properties of Nuclei. Gamma Rays. Beta Particles. Protons, Deuterons and Alpha Particles, Neutrons. Fission. Radioactivity; Part Two—Methods of Measurement and Instruments. Mass-

Bibliography

spectrographs. Geiger–Müller counters. Proportional counters. Ionization chambers. Standardization of radioactive samples. Autoradiography. Theory of the tracer method. Internal dosimetry. Preparation of thin films of radioactive elements by electrolysis. Extraction of radioactive elements from biological tissues. Electrostatic generator. Cyclotron. Betatron. Synchrotron; Part Three—Biological and medical applications of isotopes. General review of the question of the use of isotopes in biology. Principal elements of organic substances. Principal elements participating in mineral metabolism. Microelements necessary for animals and plants. Elements not necessary for life. Use of isotopes in therapy and diagnosis. Bibliography.

One of the book’s positive features is the abundance of tables and graphs. Of the tables, we may point to the table of atomic weights and isotopic abundances of the natural elements, the table of spins and magnetic and quadrupole moments of stable isotopes, the table of energies and ranges of particles of various $\beta$-emitters, the tables of ranges and energy losses of protons in H, He, Be, B, C, N, and O, calculated theoretically by Bethe’s formula for an energy of up to $10^{10}$ eV, without allowing for the effect of Fermi and Thomas radiation, experimental data on the energy and range of protons in aluminum, activation cross sections for thermal neutrons, decay schemes of a number of natural and the most interesting artificial radioactive isotopes, etc. Finally, at the end of Part I there is a table of isotopes by Seaborg and Perlman for 1949. It should be noted that the data in this table often diverge from the data given in other tables of the same book. Among the numerous graphs, one should note the large number of curves showing the dependence of the range of protons and alpha particles in various materials on their energy.

Following a good rule for books of this kind, intended for experimenters, the formulas are derived without proof, but with a clear indication of the assumptions underlying their derivation and of the limits of their applicability.

The book contains an extensive bibliography—about 450 references in the text itself and a special bibliographical list at the end of the book, containing more than 1,700 titles of various works on labeled atoms, arranged according to the corresponding elements.

Siri’s monograph will be useful not only to experimenters dealing with labeled atoms, but also to a broad circle of physicists who encounter nuclear radiations.

L. Vell