Experimental Nuclear Physics

A place to keep track of reference material - any particularly useful books, articles, etc. should be listed here.
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Richard Hull
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Real name: Richard Hull

Experimental Nuclear Physics

Post by Richard Hull »

This is a three volume set of books. edited by E. Segre, published by John Wiley & Sons, volumes I and II published 1953 and volume III in 1959. Nearly 2000 pages in all!

What can I say....If there ever was a how to library for nuclear experimenters, professional or amateur, this set is it. Both practical and theoretical, it may represent a last gasp of the old school of physics writing. (plane, upfront, understated,and practical with more than enough equations needed to get the job done in a professional manner without appearing too formal or deep for depth's sake.)

Due to its multi-author nature, (sections written by those pre-imminent in their field.), the quality and cohesivness from section to section varies, but Segre has done a good Job of keeping the thing on track.

Lots of info on detection, experimental setup and the like by the, then, Gurus of that field or speciality. A bit heavy for most on this list, but just one person on this forum benefiting from this set will be an advantage.

The set is surprisingly underpriced for its contained value. Expect to pay no more than $100.00 for a nice set, but ex-library/stained copies can be nimbled at a volume at a time to yield a ratty, perhaps unsightly, but useful set of tomes for about $50.00.

Not for the idle nuclear physics rubber neckers, but more for the person who needs classic references on the subject. Not the kind of thing you would curl up in front of a crackling fire with, but more of an item you would race to search out desparately needed data in an emergency or physics experimental crisis wishing you had checked it before you started. Get the, then current, wisdom, for such wisdom is often hard won.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
plasmann
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Re: Experimental Nuclear Physics

Post by plasmann »

I picked up vol 1 and 2 for $16 a piece. Definetly worth the money.
I found volume 1 great for the "Detection Methods" alone, which explains how detectors and circuits are built and used, but there is tons of other information on interactions of particles and radiatiions in matter.
Volume 2 has almost 400 pages dedicated to the Neutron alone,everything from interactions to sources, detectors. It also has a lot of interaction of radiation with particles information.
Like Richard said, there is plenty of information in here, and it explains things in english for the most part with just a minute amount of math compared to the amout of verbage, tables and graphs.

Mike Amann
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