Abstract
Reactor physics is a combination of nuclear physics and neutronics, both of which are essential for a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena involved. This chapter presents the rudiments of nuclear physics necessary for a reactor physicist.
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Notes
- 1.
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912–1999) was an American chemist. After completing his PhD at Berkeley in 1937, he co-discovered the element plutonium and nine other elements in 1940 (with McMillan, Kennedy and Wahl), and identified more than 100 new radioactive isotopes. He was in charge of the plutonium chemistry department in the Manhattan Project during WWII that led to the creation of the second atomic bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki on August the ninth, 1945. In 1946, he became head of the chemistry department at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1951 and published more than 200 international papers, receiving countless scientific distinctions. He was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the person with the longest entry in the Who’s Who in America.
- 2.
In 1864, Meyer published his textbook: Die modernen Theorien der Chemie [Modern Theories of Chemistry], which contained a draft of his classification in order of atomic weight, but it was only in 1870, 1 year after Mendeleev, that he published a table highlighting the periodic relationship between weight and atomic properties. Rightly or wrongly, History has linked only the name of Mendeleev with the periodic table.
- 3.
Antoine de Lavoisier (1743–1794) is an internationally recognized giant of French chemistry. He became a member of the French Academy of Science in 1768. In his study of combustion, Lavoisier demonstrated the roles of oxygen and nitrogen. He synthesized water and developed the well-known law of conservation of matter. His book Traité élémentaire de Chimie [Elements of Chemistry], written in 1789, is considered the first book of modern chemistry. His role as a tax collector under the French monarchy resulted in him being guillotined during the French Revolution after a peremptory judgment, during which the judge famously refused his request for a stay of execution that would enable him to finish a scientific project on which he was working, with the words “The Revolution has no need for scientists!”. Below is a famous painting from David of Lavoisier and his wife in 1788.
(Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- 4.
Joseph Louis Proust (1754–1826) was a French chemist; he was named Chief of the Salpêtrière Hospital pharmacy (Paris) in 1775 and joined the Academy of Sciences in 1816. He successfully synthesized sugar from grapes and defined the law of definite proportions published in 1794, which makes him one of the precursors of atomic theory.
Joseph Louis Proust. The French National Library
- 5.
Sir Frederick Soddy (1877–1956) was an English physicist who studied at Oxford. From 1900, he worked as Rutherford’s assistant at the McGill Institute in Canada. Throughout this extremely fertile period, he investigated radioactive decay and established the concept of the isotope. He returned to England and taught at Oxford; he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1921.
- 6.
Joseph John Thomson (1856–1940) is an English physicist who spent his entire scientific career in Cambridge. A graduate of Trinity College, he succeeded Lord Rayleigh in the chair of Experimental Physics at the famous Cavendish laboratory. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1914 for his work on the electron and later on the electrical conductivity of gases. He was succeeded by his pupil, Rutherford, in 1919. His son, George Paget Thomson (1892–1975), also won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1937 for his co-discovery of electron diffraction, demonstrating wave-particle duality, and he thus joined the ranks of those illustrious parent-children couples each awarded a Nobel Prize (Niels and Aage Bohr , Marie and Irène Curie ).
- 7.
Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937) was an exceptionally gifted physicist from New Zealand. His talents being recognized at an early age, he left for England to complete his scientific studies at the highly renowned Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, under the direction of J.J. Thomson, and he specialized in experimental physics. In 1898, he was offered the chair of physics at the McGill capital Institute in Montréal (Canada), where he developed experimental methods designed to study ionization and radioactivity. He identified the nature of αradiation. In 1907, he returned to Manchester, where he became the father of nuclear physics with this discovery in 1911 of the atomic nucleus. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1908 and directed the Cavendish Laboratory from 1919. He was relatively uninterested in theoretical physics and had a jovial and completely unpretentious character, coining such phrases as “All science is either physics or stamp collecting”.
Ernest Rutherford in 1908, Public domain
- 8.
In the metric system, it is interesting to consult (Système métrique décimal 1930) for the history and (Jedrzejewski 2002) for the multitude of units. For conversions to the British Thermal Unit system, see (Wildi 1972). The 7 base units of the metric system are the meter (m), the kilogramme (kg), the second (s), the ampere (A), the Kelvin (K), the candela (cd) and the mole (mol). All other units may be deduced from these. Subunits and supra-units are defined using the following prefixes: yocto (y ≡ 10−24), zepto (z ≡ 10−21), atto (y ≡ 10−18), femto (f ≡ 10−15), pico (p ≡ 10−12), nano (n ≡ 10−9), micro (μ ≡ 10−6), milli (m ≡ 10−3), centi (c ≡ 10−2), deci (d ≡ 10−1), deca (da ≡ 10+1), hecto (\( h \equiv {10}^{+\acute{e}} \)), kilo (k ≡ 10+3), mega (M ≡ 10+6), giga (G ≡ 10+9), tera (T ≡ 10+12), peta (P ≡ 10+15), exa (E ≡ 10+18), zetta (Z ≡ 10+21) and yotta (Y ≡ 10+24). It should be said that the metric system (and cheese!) are seminal contribution of France to mankind.
- 9.
The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon-12. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. The extremely interesting history of the mole is discussed in the doctoral thesis of Christiane Chabas-Buès : Histoire du concept de mole (1869–1969), à la croisée des disciplines physique and chimie, [History of the concept of the mole (1869–1969); at the threshold of physics and chemistry] published by ANRT, ISBN 978-2-7295-4586-4 (1999). The term mol was introduced in 1893 by Wilhelm Ostwald as an abbreviation of the German word molekul to designate the unit of molecule-gram, which was then translated as mole in English. The mole is the most recent SI base unit.
- 10.
Jean Baptiste Perrin (1870–1942) sat the French Agrégation examination in 1894 after studying at the “Ecole Normale Supérieure”. In June 1897, he defended his doctoral thesis ‘Cathode rays and Röntgen rays’ just as French science was coming to the fore in this domain. He provided the first experimental proof of the corpuscular nature of electrons and his work would later influence J.J. Thomson. In 1908, he determined Avogadro’s number with great precision and was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1926 for his work on the atom. He was very close to Paul Langevin and Marie Curie, with whom we share political affinities, and was one of the founders of the CNRS. His son, Francis Perrin , was a founder of the French CEA (Centre d’Etudes Atomiques), directing this organization from 1951 to 1970.
- 11.
Friedrich Hasenöhrl (1874–1915) was an Austrian physicist who in 1905 produced the equation E = 3mc 2/4 based on the work of Thomson, but which was corrected in 1914 by E. Cunningham . He was killed in the First World War. The Nazi regime later attempted to manipulate his work in order to put an Aryan gloss on Einstein’s formula.
Friedrich Hasenörhl (Photo Österreichische-Zentralbibliothek für Physik, Public domain)
- 12.
For more information on units in general and on the Universal System in particular, as well as related historical aspects, see (Jedrzejewski 2002).
- 13.
Jean-Louis Destouches (1909–1980). After studying at the Faculty of Science in Paris, he obtained a degree in 1930 where he followed the courses given by Louis de Broglie. In 1933, he defended his doctoral thesis on super-quantification theories and then specialized in quantum mechanics. He entered the CNRS in 1936 as a research manager and worked on a general theory of particles. In 1938, he became a Doctor of Letters thanks to his thesis on “the general form of physics theories”. In 1941, he completed a work on particles published by Gauthier-Villars, and 3 volumes on The fundamental principles of theoretical physics were published by Hermann in 1942. He taught both at the Faculty of Letters and Faculty of Science in Paris. In 1951, he expressed his reticence concerning the new orientations of L. de Broglie’s theories. At the end of the 1970s, he proposed a solution to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox concerning the functional theory of particles (according to an article by M. Bitbol: Jean-Louis Destouches, théories de la prévision et individualité, Philosophia Scientiae, 5 (1), pp. 1–30, 2001).
Jean-Louis Destouches in 1950 (The Marguet collection, photograph unknown)
- 14.
In the CGS system, h = 6.6260755 × 10−27 erg . s where 1 erg = 10−7 J = 1 g . cm2/s2(Berthelot 1956, p. 4).
- 15.
Gustav Hertz was the nephew of Heinrich Hertz , author of authoritative studies on the photoelectric effect. At the end of the war, Gustav Hertz was captured, like many other German scientists, within the political sphere of the Soviet Union, where he was working on isotope separation. At the end of his life, he was a professor in Leipzig in East Germany. James Franck , who was Jewish, was prescient enough to quit his position in Gottingen and emigrate to the United States immediately following the pogroms of 1933. He took part in the Manhattan project.
- 16.
Although it has the merit of being simple, this image may nevertheless be misleading. Spin should be seen rather as an additional “spatial dimension” in the quantification phases (Julg 1970).
- 17.
Enrico Fermi: Considerazioni sulla quantizzazione dei sistemi che contengono degli elementi identici [Considerations on the quantization of systems containing identical elements], Nuovo Cimento 1 (1924), 145–152, FP 1:124-29.
- 18.
Enrico Fermi:Sopra la teoria di Stern della constante assoluta dell’entropia di un gas perffeto monoatomico, Rend. Lincei 32 (2), 1923, 395–398, FP:1-114-17.
- 19.
Describing the position of the electron in its trajectory around the nucleus.
- 20.
Hideki Yukawa: Interaction of elementary particles, Proceedings of the Physical and Mathematical Society of Japan No 17, pp. 48–57 (1935)
- 21.
Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1906–1972) entered the University of Göttingen at the age of 17 years. David Hilbert, who lived next door to the Goeppert family, one day gave a talk on atomic physics which she attended. She was part of the circle of students under Max Born. In 1930, she completed her doctorate on the theoretical treatment of multiphoton processes. She married chemist Joe Mayer, whom she had met at Göttingen, and went with him to the USA. During the middle of an economic slump, she was unable to find a university post. In Baltimore, she welcomed Jewish physicists from Germany, who had begun to leave the country in 1933. Until 1941, she worked in an unpaid position in Columbia. In 1942 she was offered a position working for “Substitute Alloy Materials”, whose secret aim was to develop processes for the enrichment of uranium 235 as part of the Manhattan Project. Teller invited her to take part in the “Opacity project” on the behavior of materials at very high temperatures within the context of the hydrogen bomb. She joined Fermi’s team in Chicago, where she was given a post at the Argonne National Laboratory. She developed the calculations program for a breeder reactor on John Von Neumann’s original ENIAC computer. Working with Teller on the origin of the elements, she discovered the magic numbers that led her to the theory for which she would be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1963. (Based on an article by Jonathan Tennebaum published in Fusion No. 51).
(The Marguet collection)
- 22.
Regarding spin-orbit coupling in general, useful information is given in (Condon and Shortley 1959, p. 257).
- 23.
For an accessible overview of HFB theories, see the article by M. Girod, J.P. Delaroche and J.F. Berger: Approches microscopiques en physique nucléaire [Microscopic approaches in nuclear physics], CHOCS journal No 4 from CEA/DAM (1992).
- 24.
Claude Felix Abel Niepce, dubbed “Abel Niepce de Saint Victor” (1805–1870), was a French military man passionately interested in photography and chemistry and who carried out a great deal of research on the development of photographic plates and color fixation. He invented the so-called “heliochrome” process using chloride salts as color fixatives. However, photographs treated in this way did not preserve their colors, which turned grey on exposure to light. In 1841, he carried out experiments on cochineal to dye army clothing red. He then used various compounds to fix images on glass, steel and on paper using a process based on albumin, and which presented excellent resolution. From 1845, he attended the chemistry lessons given by Michel-Eugène Chevreul at the Natural History Museum in Paris, where Antoine then Edmond, and finally Henri Becquerel taught. His experiments led him to use uranium salts, after noting that the latter left an impression on photographic plates. He erroneously deduced from this a new action of light, which supposedly produced chemical “excitation” of uranium (1858 –“Quatrième mémoire. Sur une action de la lumière restée inconnue jusqu’ici” [Fourth dissertation. On a hitherto unknown action of light.], in Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’Académie des sciences, vol. 47, pp. 1002–1006). Niepce published numerous dissertations and treatises on color binding, and was thus a major figure in the history of photography. Inevitable quarrels over who initially discovered radioactivity occurred between Niepce and Becquerel at the end of the twentieth century. After analyzing his studies, it seems fair to say that Niepce was the first observer, which is an incredible exploit when we consider the experimental means at his disposal at that time. However, the honor of finally explaining radioactivity clearly belongs to Henri Becquerel, who after numerous attempts, finally found the right path.
On Niepce, see Paul Fournier, Josette Fournier: Hasard ou mémoire dans la découverte de la radioactivité ? [Chance or memory in the discovery of radioactivity?], Revue d’Histoire des Sciences, Année 1999 Volume 52, No. 1 pp. 51–80.
Claude Felix Abel Niepce (Public domain)
- 25.
Henri Becquerel: Sur les radiations émises par phosphorescence [On radiation emitted by phosphorescence], Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, No. 46, p. 10, February 24, 1896.
- 26.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie: Rayons émis par les composés de l’uranium and du thorium [Radiation emitted by uranium and thorium compounds], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie de Sciences, No. 126, p. 1101, April 12, 1898
- 27.
Pierre and Marie Curie: Sur une substance nouvelle radioactive contenue dans la pechblende [On a new radioactive substance present in pitchblende], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie de Sciences, No 127, p. 175, July 18, 1898
- 28.
Pierre and Marie Curie: Sur une nouvelle substance fortement radioactive contenue dans la pechblende [On a new highly radioactive substance present in pitchblende], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie de Sciences, No 127, p. 1215, December 26, 1898
- 29.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie: Sur le poids atomique du métal dans le chlorure de baryum radifère [On the atomic weight of the metal in radiferous barium chloride], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie de Sciences, No 129, p. 760, November 13, 1899
- 30.
Lord Kelvin’s calculations ignored the source of energy due to radioactivity, prompting Rutherford to reply tactfully towards the venerable elder scientist. A tabloid from the time made a playful reference to the subject of the scientific discussion in the title “Doomsday Postponed!”
- 31.
W. Bothe and H. Becker: Künstliche Erregung von Kern -γ-Strahlen, Zeitschrift für Physik, n°66, pp. 289–306 (1930)
- 32.
Irène Curie and Frédéric Joliot: Emission de protons de grande vitesse par les substances hydrogénées sous l’influence des rayons γtrès pénétrants [Emission of high-speed protons by hydrogenated substances under the influence of highly penetrating γrays], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, No 94, p. 273 (1932)
- 33.
James Chadwick: Possible existence of a neutron, Nature No 129, p. 312 (1932)
- 34.
Irène Curie and Frédéric Joliot: Un nouveau type de radioactivité [A new type of radioactivity], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, No 198, p. 254 (1934)
- 35.
Salomon Rosenblum (1896–1960) Salomon Rosenblum begins his secondary education in Germany before leaving for Sweden where he begins a thesis on the ancient and modern oriental languages. A fortuitous meeting, in a café of Copenhagen with an assistant of Niels Bohr brings him to move into the sciences in Berlin by fascination for the new atomic science, then into Marie Curie Paris’s laboratory in 1923. After a thesis (1928) on the attenuation of α -beams through matter he resumes the study of the α-ray spectrum of the Thorium C (the current bismuth 212), then Radium C (bismuth 214) by magnetic methods of his invention. The putting into service of the large electromagnet of the Academy of Science built supervised by Aimé Cotton and the use for the first time in spectroscopy alpha of the method of focus in 180°, allowed him in 1929 to obtain an unequalled dividing power and to observe 4 different lines in the spectrum of the bismuth 214. Follows itself the discovery of the fine structure of the α spectrum, which lines are not unique as it was believed previously (the lines being very close possibly confused in a unique macro-line). He published his original works in the reference textbook (Rosenblum 1932). Of Jewish origin and naturalized French in 1929 thanks to the help of Marie Curie, Salomon Rosenblum spent 3 years of exile in the United States (1941–1944) during the German occupation of France. He eventually became friend with Albert Einstein. After the Liberation, he returned back in France as Director of a new laboratory CNRS(NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH), at first to Bellevue where took place the first experiments on the neutrons post-war years in France, then in Orsay.
Salomon Rosenblum
Experiments on neutrons in some cave in Bellevue laboratories –Public domain
- 36.
Salomon Rosenblum: Structure fine du spectre magnétique des rayons alpha du thorium [Fine structure of the magnetic spectrum of alpha rays from thorium], Comptes-rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, No 188, pp. 1401–1403 (1929)
- 37.
Enrico Fermi: Tentativo di una teoria dei raggi β [Attempt at a Theory of β Rays], Nuovo cimento, No 11, pp. 1–19 (1934)
- 38.
Paul Ulrich Villard (1860–1934) was a French chemist who worked in the chemistry Department of the Ecole Normale in the “rue d’Ulm” in Paris. In 1900 he discovered within radium radiation a form of radiation unaffected by magnetic fields: γradiation. He entered the “Académie des Sciences” in 1908.
(Public domain)
- 39.
Yigal Ronen: The systematic behaviour of the spontaneous fission branching ratios of even-Z isotopes, Nuclear Science and Engineering, 160, 144–147 (2008). Ronen teaches at the Ben-Gurion University (Israel), where he specializes in the physics of minor actinides. Several of his reference books have been published by CRC.
- 40.
P. De Marcillac, N. Coron, G. Dambler, J. Leblanc, J.P. Moalic: Experimental detection of α-particles from the radioactive decay of natural bismuth, Nature, Vol. 422.
Bibliography
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Yuri A. Alexandrov, Fundamental properties of neutron, Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, ISBN 0-19-851735-1, 1992, 210 pages. To know everything on the essential particle of reactor physics. Every property (mass, spin, magnetic moment, …) is analyzed in a specific chapter.
Henri Arzeliès, Rayonnement et dynamique du corpuscule chargé fortement accéléré [Radiation and dynamics of the highly-accelerated charged body], Gauthier-Villars, Paris, ISBN 0-07-002380-8, 1966, 425 pages. Apart from its foreword, this book exposes the theories of Lorentz, Abraham, Feynman and Wheeler (absorbing concept) very clearly. The hypotheses behind each model are contrasted and the bibliography is exhaustive.
Loïc Barbo, Denis Beaudoin, Michel Laguës, L’expérience retrouvée [The re-discovered experiment], Belin, Paris, ISBN 2-7011-4278-5, 2005, 157 pages. This work was published during an exhibition on Pierre Curie. Instrumentation is very well documented and the know-how of the Curies for designing and using new measuring instruments is described. Denis Beaudoin is a well-known relative of the famous high-precision instrument maker Beaudoin.
Roger C. Barret, Daphne F. Jackson, Nuclear sizes and structure, Clarendon, Oxford, United Kingdom, ISBN 0-19-851272-4, 1977, 566 pages. This work presents a summary of the different models concerning the constitution of the atom and the state of their experimental data.
Edmond Bauer, La théorie de Bohr: la constitution de la matière et la classification périodique des éléments [Bohr’s theory: the composition of matter and the periodic classification of elements], Hermann, Paris, 1922, 49 pages. This book is the text of the conference held on February 19, 1921, at the chemistry and physics society.
Michel Bayet, Physique nucléaire [Nuclear physics], Masson, Paris, 1960, 404 pages. This book has much information although the notations are sometimes outdated (especially in neutron physics).
Richard Becker, Théorie des électrons [Electron theory], Félix Lacan, Paris, 1938, 433 pages. It is hard to believe that this book by Richard Becker (1887–1955) was written before World War II as its contents are still up-to-date. He expatiates on all the aspects of the electron within the field theory framework. Today, this is known as the microscopic theory of electrical conduction. A whole chapter is devoted to relativistic electrodynamics.
André Berthelot, Rayonnements des particules atomiques, électrons et photons [Radiation from atomic particles, electrons and photons], Masson, Paris, 1956, 191 pages.
Joseph Bessis, Manuel de physique nucléaire [Nuclear physics textbook], Eyrolles, Paris, 1978. 166 pages. Few proofs from this book resulting from a lecture at INSTN, with all the required knowledge on reactor physics.
J.B. Birks (editor), Proceedings of the Rutherford Jubilee international conference, Heywood, 1961, 856 pages. Especially: Rutherford and nuclear cosmo-chronology de William Alfred Fowler p 640–676.
George Birtwistle, It is an excellent summary of results found from Bohr’s time. The first edition dates back to 1926.
Eugène Bloch, Théorie cinétique des gaz [Kinetic theory of gases], Armand Colin, Paris, 1958, 181 pages. This small book (in size) is a good introduction to the subject matter.
Niels Bohr, La théorie atomique et la description des phénomènes, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1932, 111 pages. Four articles from 1925 to 1930 translated by Danish to French by Andrée Legros and Léon Rosenfeld. The presentation of the quantum postulate by one of the pioneers of the theory in the second article is very interesting.
Aage Bohr, R.A. Broglia (coordinators), Elementary modes of excitation in nuclei, Accounts from the International Physics School “Enrico Fermi ”, lectures LXIX, Societa Italiana di Fisica, Bologne, Italie, 1977, 545 pages. Especially the lectures of A. Bohr and B.R. Mottelson.
Vincent Borella, L’introduction de la relativité en France 1905–1922 [Introduction of relativity in France 1905–1922], Diffusion ANRT, Lille, ISBN 2-284-01498-4, 1998, 458 pages. It is a Ph. D. thesis on the history of sciences published by Atelier National de Reproduction de Thèses, and is thus sold.
Max Born, Structure atomique de la matière [Atomic structure of matter], Armand Colin, Paris, 1971, Max Born had a significant role in the development of quantum physics. This book although written from conference articles from 1933 is surprisingly up to date – it has been published in multiple editions.
G.A. Boutry, Physique appliquée aux industries du vide et de l’électronique [Physics applied to vacuum and electronic industries], Masson, Paris, 1962. It is mainly the second part of the book, dedicated to electron, excitation and ionization that are relevant to our subject, the first part being dedicated to vacuum techniques.
Léon Brillouin, La théorie des quanta et l’atome de Bohr [Quantum theory and the Bohr atom], edited by “journal de physique ”, Albert Blanchard, Paris, 1922, 181 pages. Right from that time, Léon Brillouin presented a clear proof of the Planck formula that is consistent with the emission of the Wien black body, as well as the application of Bohr’s theory. The last chapter accounts for Boltzmann formula and adiabatic invariants.
Bernard Cagnac, Jean-Claude Pebay-Peyroula, Physique atomique tome 1: expériences et principes fondamentaux [Atomic physics Part 1: experiments and fundamentals], Dunod, Paris, ISBN 2-04-002555-3, 1995, 295 pages. Re-edition of the 1971 version. The principal experiments are well-described: Stern and Gerlach, Larmor, Barnett, Zeeman, Rutherford…. Several didactic diagrams.
Norman Robert Campbell, Théorie quantique des spectres : la relativité [On the quantum theory of line spectra: relativity], Hermann, 1924, 257 pages. It was one of the first books translated in French which details the Bohr theory.
Yves Chelet, La radioactivité : manuel d’initiation [Radioactivity : a beginner’s manual], Nucléon, Paris, ISBN 2-84332-019-4, 2006, 557 pages.
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Jacques Dupont-Roc, Gilbert Grynberg, Processus d’interaction entre photons et atomes [Photon and atom interactions], InterEditions/Editions du CNRS, Paris, ISBN 2-7296-0157-0, 1988, 628 pages. These scientists froùm the physics laboratory of the Ecole Normale Supérieure are experts in that field. Cohen-Tannoudji was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1997. The chapters on the absorption and scattering of photons are to be noted for our work.
E.U. Condon, G.H. Shortley, The theory of atomic spectra, InterEditions, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 1959, 432 pages. It is the most exhaustive reference on the subject matter. The Russel-Sanders model is presented thoroughly as well as the Zeeman effect or the Stark effect with dedicated chapters.
Michelangelo De Maria, Fermi, un physicien dans la tourmente [Fermi, a physicist in the storm], Editions Belin – pour la science, ISBN 2-84245-049-3, 2002, 160 pages. An exceptional work on the life of Enrico Fermi with numerous illustrations. This book depicts Fermi in the historical context of his time to show his genius, both as an experimentalist and a theorist.
Jean-Louis Destouches, Etat actuel de la théorie du neutron [Present state of neutron theory], Hermann. Paris, 1932. 68 pages. This book is as far as I know, the first neutron physics book in French, published the same year that Chadwick discovered the neutron!. He presents the knowledge of the time on the subject (Bothe and Becker experiment, Joliot-Curie experiments…) and analyses the proposed models (proton-electron dipole?). Very interesting.
James E. Dodd, The ideas of particle physics: an introduction for scientists, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, Royaume Uni, ISBN 0-521-25338-1, 1984, 202 pages. This book is a good starting point for particle physics with many illustrations.
M. Duquesne, R. Grégoire, M. Lefort, Travaux pratiques de physique nucléaire et de radiochimie [Practical work in nuclear physics and radiochemistry], Masson, Paris, 1960, 304 pages. Several experimental descriptions for radiation.
Robley D. Evans, The Atomic Nucleus, McGraw-Hill, USA, ISBN 0-89874-414-8, 1955. This reference is almost exhaustive on the atomic nucleus, translated in French. The 1982 edition by Robert Krieger Publishing Company is easier to find.
Bernard Fernandez, De l’atome au noyau [From the atom to the nucleus], Ellipses, Paris, ISBN 2-7298-2784-6, 2006. 597 pages. This history book was written by a scientist and underlines the bibliography and the history of discoveries since radioactivity. A laudable work worth mentioning.
Ulysse Filippi, Matière, rayonnement, énergie [Matter, radiation, energy], Dunod, Paris, 1965, 289 pages.
Anthony Foderaro, The elements of neutron interaction theory, MIT press, USA, ISBN 0-262-56160-3, 1971, re-edited 1979, 585 pages. The introduction is an amusing allusion to authors. This book is an impressive collection of theoretical models. The black cover is intimidating! The chapter on “collision kinematics” is a model for clear presentation that can be difficulty leveled. Foderaro presents collision within the quantum physics framework (Schrödinger’s equation for which he analyses several solutions). He presents the Breit-Wigner model and the Doppler effect. In my view, one of the best textbooks on pure neutron physics.
M. Salvy, L. Le Moigne, R. Marchal, Génie Atomique, cours fondamental, tome 1 [Nuclear engineering, fundamental lectures, part 1], INSTN/Presses Universitaires de France. Paris, Dépôt Légal n°7806, 1967 (re-edited 1963), 440 pages. The INSTN has published an important collection of textbooks under the direction of Francis Perrin in the 1960’s with sky-blue or green covers with most scientific knowledge of the time (neutron physics, materials, reactor physics, thermal conduction, reactor technology…). The second chapter Neutronics by Le Moigne is a highly summarized form in 180 pages of knowledge that led to the construction of UNGG reactors and which complements [Blaquière, 1962].
Les génies de la science (revue), Einstein: le père du temps moderne, Les génies de la science, Pour la science, Belin, 2002, 96 pages. There is an impressive number of books dedicated to Einstein, but this book is a good review on the life and facts on Einstein.
Les génies de la science (revue), Planck : la révolution quantique, Les génies de la science, Pour la science, Belin, 2006, 120 pages.
Les génies de la science (revue), Niels Bohr: A l’aune de la physique atomique, Les génies de la science, Pour la science, Belin, 2008, 104 pages.
Samuel Glasstone, Milton C. Edlund, The elements of Nuclear reactor theory, Mac Millan, USA, 1972, 416 pages. It is the re-edition of the 1952 version published at Van Nostrand.
Robert Guillien, Physique nucléaire appliquée [Applied nuclear physics], Eyrolles, 1963, 744 pages.
D. Halliday, Introductory nuclear Physics, 2nd edition, was published by John Wiley, New-York, USA, Library of Congress Card Number 55-0365, 1955, french translation published by Dunod in 1957, translated by Robert Barjon.
Werner Heisenberg, Nuclear physics, Philosophical Library, New-York, USA, 1953, 224 pages. It is more a popularizing work rather than academic one. There is a photograph of the old brewery with a lattice of chains containing uranium cubes in a reservoir of heavy water developed in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm Institut (Wirtz, Bopp, Fischer, Jensen, Ritter) during the war for the Third Reich. A really interesting historical chapter. Several pictures are also presented.
B. Held, Physique atomique [Atomic physics], Masson, Paris, ISBN 2-225-82432-0, 1991, 228 pages. Especially Bohr atom.
Gerhard Herzberg, Atomic spectra and atomic structure, Dover, USA, ISBN 0-486-60115-3, 1991, 257 pages. It is the translation of a book published in German in 1937. There is a good description of quantum effects (Zeeman, Stark effects and a clear presentation of spin composition). A pioneer in molecular spectroscopy, this physicist was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1971 for his work on internal geometry and the energy states of simple molecules, especially for free radicals.
Banesh Hoffmann, with Helen Dukas, Albert Einstein, créateur er rebelle [Albert Einstein, creator and rebel], Seuil. Paris, 1975, 298 pages. Saying that Albert Einstein is the physicist of the 20th century is obvious. This book puts back his work in their historical context. Numerous photos.
W. Hume-Rothery, Electrons, atomes, métaux et alliages [Electrons, atoms, metals and alloys], Dunod, Paris, 1959, 456 pages. One of the most peculiar physics book I ever read: it is a discussion between a young scientist and a metallurgist with much experience. Not academic but interesting.
Earl K. Hyde, Isadore Perlman, Glenn T. Seaborg, The nuclear properties of the heavy elements II: detailed radioactivity properties, Prentice Hall, USA, Library Congress Card Number 64-23184, 1964, 1107 pages les deux tomes. Every transuranium isotope is investigated. It completes the numerical databases by a description of measurements and physics comments.
Franck Jedrzejewski, Histoire universelle de la mesure [Universal history of measurements], Ellipses, France, ISBN 2-7298-1106-0, 2002, 416 pages. This work presents all the historical aspects of the units of measurements and their development over the centuries. The MKS system which became widespread in France after the Revolution is very well documented. Furthermore, other unusual units are also presented: for instance, we learn that the angle was an old unit for volume used in France in the Middle Ages to measure grains and that Germany proposed the benz for speed! The Dollar and the pcm for reactor physics are also correctly presented. Very interesting!
Irène Joliot-Curie, Les radioéléments naturels [The natural radioelements], Hermann, Paris, 1946, 187 pages. By the woman who discovered artificial radioactivity with her husband. The radioactive chains are also given, with old isotope names.
Marc Jouguet, Cours de physique tome IV: structure de la matière, Eyrolles, Paris, 1964, 262 pages. Especially for the complete description of the hydrogen atom and the chapters on nuclear physics.
Enrique Joven Alvarez, Dalton et la théorie atomique[Dalton and the atomic theory], Service clients, Grandes Idées de la Science, La Garenne Colombes, 2015, ISBN 978-2-8237-0244-6, 151 pages. A non-specialist book easy to read.
André Julg, Atomes et liaisons [Atoms and bondings], Armand Colin, Paris, 1970, 103 pages. At the frontier of chemistry and atomic theory, this book is very complete on chemical bondings, a subject which is quickly broached in other nuclear physics textbook. A particular introduction implies that obsolete theories must no longer be taught. I do not agree with the author on this point: from my point of view, understanding the mistakes (or approximations) of the past is essential to get to scientific truth and honing critical sense.
Théo Kahan, Physique nucléaire et physique mésique [Nuclear physics and meson physics], Armand Colin, Paris, 1963, 222 pages. This small book may appear to be a popularizing work at first glance. It is not the case. Théo Kahan, a specialist of nuclear physics and quantum physics, has authored a very academic textbook with much information.
Irving Kaplan, Nuclear physics, Addison-Wesley, Library of congress 54-5732, 1956, 3rd edition, 609 pages.
H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, Sixty years of double beta decay: from nuclear physics to beyond standard model particle physics, World Scientific, Singapore, ISBN 981-02-3779-0, 2001, 1281 pages. This is the sort of book which I love. It mingles historical approach along with scientific content on a very specialized subject in nuclear physics. Not very useful to the reactor physicist but the fantastic work of the author has to be cited.
Emil Jan Konopinski, The theory of Beta radioactivity, Clarendon press, Oxford, Great Britain, 1966, 399 pages. A deep reference on the subject, this book is a reference on the disintegration also studied by Enrico Fermi. Konopinski actually worked with him on the Chicago Pile CP1, then on nuclear weapons A and H.
André Langevin, Paul Langevin, mon père [My father, Paul Langevin], EFR, 1971, 288 pages. Langevin is (unjustly) unknown to the general public. This book is a tribute to him.
J. Littler, J.F. Raffle, An introduction to reactor physics, Pergamon Press, London, United Kingdom, 1957, 2nd edition, 208 pages.
John S. Lilley, Nuclear physics, John Wiley, Chichester, England, ISBN 0-471-97936-8, 2001, 393 pages. Lectures of the University of Manchester. Very complete. A chapter is devoted to fission reactors.
Noelle Loriot, Irène Joliot-Curie, Presse de la Renaissance, Paris, ISBN 2-85616-587-7, 1991, 304 pages.
P. Lowys, Les rayons X et le radium [X rays and radium], Editions des Sciences et Voyages, Paris, France, 1925, 96 pages. This small popularizing book contains surprising photos of the use of radioactivity (curie-therapy, radiography, etc.) at the beginning of the 20th century.
François Lurçat, Niels Bohr et la physique quantique [Niels Bohr and quantum physics], Editions du Seuil, Paris, France, 2001, 266 pages. This small pocket book on Bohr recalls the main scientific trends at the beginning of the 20th century.
Bruce H. Mahan, Philibert L’Ecuyer, Marcel Lefrançois, Chimie [Chemistry], Editions du Renouveau Pédagogique, Montréal, Canada, 1970, 832 pages. 2nd edition. Extremely didactic and in French. For our use, the following chapters are relevant: fundamentals of atomic theory, gas properties, solid properties, electronic structure of atoms and the atomic nucleus.
Jean-Paul Mathieu (coordinator), Histoire de la physique, tome 2: la physique du XXème siècle [History of physics : Part 2, the XXth century physics], Lavoisier Tec et Doc, Paris, ISBN 0-85206-697-1, 1991, 403 pages. Covers the first three chapters of this textbook. The factual approach of presenting the various events limits the book to the essential facts only.
Robert M. Mayo, Introduction to nuclear concepts for engineers, American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, Illinois, USA, ISBN 0-89448-454-0, 1998, 361 pages. This book is more than just a good introduction.
Gene F. Mazenko, Equilibrium statistical mechanics, John Wiley, USA, ISBN 0-471-32839-1, 2000, 613 pages. Even though it is more dedicated to mechanics and materials, the chapter on the investigation of fluids by X rays and several proofs of statistical physics and thermodynamics is very good.
radioactivité, Service clients, Grandes Idées de la Science, La Garenne Colombes, 2014, ISBN 978-2-8237-0223-1, 149 pages. Without revealing of novelties, it is about a good synthesis of Marie Curie’s life
Maurice E. Nahmias, Libération et exploitation de l’énergie nucléaire [Liberating and operating nuclear power], Larousse, Paris, France, 1953, 302 pages. This popularizing work is very complete and presents a summary of the notes of H. Becquerel to the Académie des Sciences. Several diagrams and photos, especially for a description of Zoé.
D.A Bromley, E.W. Vogt (Editors), Nuclear structure, Proceedings of the international conference on nuclear structure held in Kingston, Canada, 29 August-3 September 1960, North Holland/University of Toronto Press, Amsterdam, 1960, 990 pages. This book presents the state-of-the-art of theoretical knowledge on the structure of the atomic nucleus with the contribution of specialists such as W.B. Lewins, R.E. Peierls, A. Bohr. Although very theoretical, this book presents the problems of the time with a chapter devoted to open problems.
D.C. Peaslee, H. Mueller, Elements of atomic physics, Prentice Hall, New-York, USA, Library of Congress Card Number 55-7572, 1955, 394 pages.
Rosalynd Pflaum, Marie Curie et sa fille Irène: deux femmes, trois Nobel [Marie Curie and her daughter, Irène], Belfond, Paris, ISBN 2-7144-2885-1, 1992, 449 pages. Written by an American, thereby depicting the American fascination for Curie, this biography is very complete and tries to grasp the unbelievable fate of the Curie.
O.R. Frisch (editor), Progress in nuclear Physics Volume 8, Butterworth-Springer, London, United Kingdom, Library of Congress Card Number 51-984, 1960a, 224 pages. Compilation of articles by British scientists. Especially The scattering of neutrons by crystals by J.M. Cassels.
O.R. Frisch (editor), Progress in nuclear Physics Volume 8, Pergamon press, London, United Kingdom, Library of Congress Card Number 51-984, 1960b, 304 pages. Compilation of articles by British scientists. Especially The interaction of polarized nucleons with nuclei by E.J. Squires.
Compilation, Radioactive dating and methods of low-level counting, radiation, Proceedings of a symposium in Monaco, 2–10 March 1967, IAEA Vienne, 744 pages. This symposium presented the state of the art of counting methods especially carbon 14, and also other isotopes. Very instructive.
Philippe Reine, Le problème atomique IV : Etude de la radioactivité [Atomic problem IV: Study of radioactivity], Berger-Levrault, 1960, 141 pages. It consists of lectures given at the Centre National d’Etudes de la Protection Civile.
René Renault, Atomistique et chimie générale [General atomistics and chemistry], Dunod, 1948, 2nd edition, 426 pages. The chapter on atomistics and the discontinuous nature of matter is to be noted.
Michel Rival, Les grandes expériences scientifiques [Great scientific experiments], Editions du Seuil, Paris, France, ISBN n°2-02-022851-3, 1996, 204 pages.
Salomon Rosenblum, Origine des rayons gammas, structure fine du spectre magnétique des rayons α [Origin of gammas, fine structure of the magnetic spectrum of α rays], Hermann, Paris, 1932, 37 pages. A small fascicule with historical background. More of a tribute than an actual reference. Rosenblum conceived a magnetic spectrograph with Dupouy to measure the energy of alpha particles (1933).
Salomon Rosenblum, Œuvres scientifiques [Scientific work], Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1969, 363 pages. S. Rosenblum discovered the fine structure of alpha radiation from thorium C, and the associated gamma radiation, while it was believed that alpha rays from a radioelement were monoenergetic. He was a brilliant experimentalist and obtained several results by magnetic techniques.
Jean Rosmorduc (coordinator), Histoire de la physique, tome 1: la formation de la physique classique [History of physics, part 1: the coming of classical physics], Lavoisier Tec et Doc, Paris, ISBN 0-85206-858-3, 1987, 322 pages. Especially the last chapter on matter.
L.N. Savushkin, H. Toki, The atomic nucleus as a relativistic system, Springer, ISBN 3-540-40492, 2004, 349 pages.
Henry Semat, Introduction to atomic and nuclear physics, Rinehart, USA, Library of Congress Card Number 54-7640, 1955, 561 pages.
Carl W. Seidel (editor), The Mössbauer effect and its application in chemistry, symposium organise pour la Nuclear Science and Engineering Corporation, Pittsburgh, September 12, 1966, American Chemistry Society, Washington DC, USA, Library of Congress Card Number 67-31407, 1967, 178 pages. The first chapter recalls the physics behind the effect. The other sections are dedicated to applications in chemistry.
H. Soodak (editor), The reactor handbook, volume 1: Physics, AECD-3645, U.S. Atomic energy commission, 1955, 790 pages. This book from March 1955 was the first declassified edition published by the service of technical information of USAEC as an opening to the conference Atoms for Peace in 1955, and was immediately bought by the EDF library at Messine in December 1955 through the Lavoisier library: one of the first references in nuclear at EDF. The contribution of Adler and Greuling for the reactor kinetics part is to be noted. Soodak was established as the bible for first neutron physicists in France.
A. Steigler, Atome, Liaison, Réaction [Atom, bonding, reaction], Dunod, Paris, 1966, 133 pages.
Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Le système métrique décimal [The decimal metric system], Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1930, 256 pages. I usually tell my students that the metric system is the most beautiful French invention. This book presents the history of the metric system since its creation by the Assemblée Constituante in 1790 as the initiative of Talleyrand. The book ends with a critical and amusing presentation of attempts to retain the British system by some resistors. Completes [Jedrzejewski, 2002].
M. Trocheris, Les modèles de noyau, INSTN-PUF, Paris, 1959, 147 pages. To be read before “the atomic nucleus” by Evans.
Robert E. Uhrig, Random noise techniques in nuclear reactor systems, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress card number 71-110558, 1970, 490 pages. More details than [Thie, 1981], but less theoretical than [Williams, 1974]. This book has both theoretical and experimental aspects on processing neutron noise. A wise chapter on random noise precedes the purely neutronics part. The probabilistic approach of radioactivity in the second chapter is very instructive.
Luc Valentin, Tome 1: Approche élémentaire [Part 1 : Elementary approach], Hermann, Paris, France, ISBN 2-7056-5927-7, 1982a, 312 pages. Ideal for beginning nuclear physics.
Luc Valentin, Tome 1I: Développements [Part 2, Developments], Hermann, Paris, France, ISBN 2-7056-5928-5, 1982b, 652 pages in all. Ideal for beginning nuclear physics.
Albert Van De Vorst, Introduction à la physique, Tome 3 Noyaux, atomes molécules [Introduction to physics, part 3, Nuclides, atoms, molecules], De Boeck Université, Bruxelles, Belgique, 1992, 211 pages.
Harvey Elliott White, Introduction to atomic spectra, McGraw-Hill, New-York, USA, 1934, 457 pages. The approach of Sommerfeld and the Zeeman effect must be pointed out.
Theodore Wildi, Units, Volta, Canada, 1972, 132 pages. Contains highly didactical illustrations of transforms in the BTU unit system.
Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, La théorie atomique [Atomic theory], Félix Alcan, Paris, 1904, 248 pages. 9th edition. Even though this book is much more about chemistry, it presents a history of the first atomic theories.
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Marguet, S. (2017). Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics. In: The Physics of Nuclear Reactors. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59560-3_1
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