BOOK COVER -- TITLE -- COPYRIGHT -- CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 THE ATOM: DEVELOPMENT OF ATOMIC THEORY -- WHAT IS AN ATOM? -- THE ATOMIC PHILOSOPHY OF THE EARLY GREEKS -- THE EMERGENCE OF EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE -- EXPERIMENTAL FOUNDATION OF ATOMIC CHEMISTRY -- ATOMIC WEIGHTS AND THE PERIODIC TABLE -- KINETIC THEORY OF GASES -- STUDIES OF THE PROPERTIES OF ATOMS -- SIZE OF ATOMS -- ELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF ATOMS -- LIGHT AND SPECTRAL LINES -- DISCOVERY OF ELECTRONS -- MILLIKAN OIL-DROP EXPERIMENT -- IDENTIFICATION OF POSITIVE IONS -- DISCOVERY OF RADIOACTIVITY -- MODELS OF ATOMIC STRUCTURE -- RUTHERFORD'S NUCLEAR MODEL -- MOSELEY'S X-RAY STUDIES -- BOHR'S SHELL MODEL -- THE LAWS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS -- SCHRÖDINGER'S WAVE EQUATION -- ANTIPARTICLES AND THE ELECTRON'S SPIN -- ADVANCES IN NUCLEAR AND SUBATOMIC PHYSICS -- STRUCTURE OF THE NUCLEUS -- QUANTUM FIELD THEORY AND THE STANDARD MODEL -- CHAPTER 2 THE ATOM: COMPONENTS AND PROPERTIES -- ATOMIC NUMBER -- ATOMIC MASS AND ISOTOPES -- THE ELECTRON -- CHARGE, MASS, AND SPIN -- ORBITS AND ENERGY LEVELS -- ELECTRON SHELLS -- ATOMIC BONDS -- CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS -- MAGNETIC PROPERTIES -- THE NUCLEUS -- NUCLEAR FORCES -- NUCLEAR SHELL MODEL -- RADIOACTIVE DECAY -- NUCLEAR ENERGY -- CHAPTER 3 ISOTOPES -- THE DISCOVERY OF ISOTOPES -- NUCLEAR STABILITY -- RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES -- ELEMENTAL AND ISOTOPIC ABUNDANCES -- VARIATIONS IN ISOTOPIC ABUNDANCES -- RADIOACTIVE DECAY -- MASS FRACTIONATION -- PHYSICAL PROPERTIES ASSOCIATED WITH ISOTOPES -- EFFECT OF ISOTOPES ON ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR SPECTRA -- MOLECULAR VIBRATIONS -- IMPORTANCE IN THE STUDY OF POLYATOMIC MOLECULES -- CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF ISOTOPIC SUBSTITUTION -- EFFECT OF ISOTOPIC SUBSTITUTION ON REACTION RATES -- ISOTOPE SEPARATION AND ENRICHMENT -- MASS SPECTROMETRY -- DISTILLATION -- CHEMICAL EXCHANGE REACTIONS -- GASEOUS DIFFUSION.

GAS CENTRIFUGATION -- PHOTOCHEMICAL ENRICHMENT METHODS -- CHAPTER 4 RADIOACTIVITY -- THE NATURE OF RADIOACTIVE EMISSIONS -- TYPES OF RADIOACTIVITY -- ALPHA DECAY -- BETA-MINUS DECAY -- GAMMA DECAY -- ISOMERIC TRANSITIONS -- BETA-PLUS DECAY -- ELECTRON CAPTURE -- SPONTANEOUS FISSION -- PROTON RADIOACTIVITY -- SPECIAL BETA-DECAY PROCESSES -- HEAVY-ION RADIOACTIVITY -- OCCURRENCE OF RADIOACTIVITY -- ENERGETICS AND KINETICS OF RADIOACTIVITY -- ENERGY RELEASE IN RADIOACTIVE TRANSITIONS -- CALCULATION AND MEASUREMENT OF ENERGY -- ABSOLUTE NUCLEAR BINDING ENERGY -- NUCLEAR MODELS -- THE LIQUID-DROP MODEL -- THE SHELL MODEL -- THE COLLECTIVE MODEL -- RATES OF RADIOACTIVE TRANSITIONS -- EXPONENTIAL-DECAY LAW -- MEASUREMENT OF HALF-LIFE -- APPLICATIONS OF RADIOACTIVITY -- MEDICINAL -- INDUSTRIAL -- SCIENTIFIC -- CHAPTER 5 RADIATION AND LIFE -- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND -- UNITS FOR MEASURING IONIZING RADIATION -- SOURCES AND LEVELS OF RADIATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT -- NATURAL SOURCES -- ARTIFICIAL SOURCES -- MECHANISM OF BIOLOGIC ACTION -- RADIONUCLIDES AND RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT -- ACCUMULATION IN CRITICAL ORGANS -- THE HAZARDS OF LONG-LIVED RADIOISOTOPES -- MAJOR TYPES OF RADIATION INJURY -- EFFECTS ON THE CELL -- EFFECTS ON ORGANS OF THE BODY (SOMATIC EFFECTS) -- EFFECTS ON THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMBRYO -- EFFECTS ON THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER -- PROTECTION AGAINST EXTERNAL RADIATION -- CONTROL OF RADIATION RISKS -- CHAPTER 6 NUCLEAR FISSION -- HISTORY OF FISSION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY -- FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FISSION PROCESS -- STRUCTURE AND STABILITY OF NUCLEAR MATTER -- INDUCED FISSION -- SPONTANEOUS FISSION -- THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF FISSION -- FISSION FRAGMENT MASS DISTRIBUTIONS -- FISSION DECAY CHAINS AND CHARGE DISTRIBUTION -- PROMPT NEUTRONS IN FISSION -- DELAYED NEUTRONS IN FISSION -- ENERGY RELEASE IN FISSION -- FISSION THEORY.

NUCLEAR MODELS AND NUCLEAR FISSION -- FISSION CHAIN REACTIONS AND THEIR CONTROL -- USES OF FISSION REACTORS AND FISSION PRODUCTS -- CHAPTER 7 NUCLEAR FUSION -- THE FUSION REACTION -- TWO TYPES OF FUSION REACTIONS -- ENERGY RELEASED IN FUSION REACTIONS -- RATE AND YIELD OF FUSION REACTIONS -- THE PLASMA STATE -- FUSION REACTIONS IN STARS -- FUSION REACTIONS FOR CONTROLLED POWER GENERATION -- METHODS OF ACHIEVING FUSION ENERGY -- MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT -- INERTIAL CONFINEMENT FUSION (ICF) -- MUON-CATALYZED FUSION -- COLD FUSION AND BUBBLE FUSION -- CONDITIONS FOR PRACTICAL FUSION YIELD -- HISTORY OF FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH -- CONCLUSION -- CHAPTER 8 BIOGRAPHIES -- CLASSICAL WORLD: PHILOSOPHERS -- DEMOCRITUS -- LEUCIPPUS -- 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES: BEGINNINGS OF ATOMIC THEORY -- AMEDEO AVOGADRO -- JOHANN JAKOB BALMER -- JÖNS JACOB BERZELIUS -- ROBERT BROWN -- ROBERT WILHELM BUNSEN -- STANISLAO CANNIZZARO -- JOHN DALTON -- JOSEPH LOSCHMIDT -- DMITRY IVANOVICH MENDELEYEV -- LOTHAR MEYER -- JEAN PERRIN -- JOSEPH-LOUIS PROUST -- JOHANNES ROBERT RYDBERG -- 20TH CENTURY: RADIATION AND AFTER -- HENRI BECQUEREL -- MARIE CURIE -- PIERRE CURIE -- OTTO HAHN -- LISE MEITNER -- HENRY GWYN JEFFREYS MOSELEY -- WILHELM RÖNTGEN -- ERNEST RUTHERFORD -- FREDERICK SODDY -- FRITZ STRASSMANN -- SIR J.J. THOMSON -- GLOSSARY -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- GENERAL HISTORY -- ATOMIC COMPONENTS AND PROPERTIES -- ISOTOPE -- RADIOACTIVITY -- NUCLEAR FISSION -- NUCLEAR FUSION -- RADIATION -- INDEX -- BACK COVER.