BOOK REVIEWS

Introduction to Nuclear Engineering. By R. STEPHENSON.McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd.

pp. xii + 387. 57s. 6d.

ENGINEERSwill find this book very useful as an introduction to the field of nuclear energy. The
first seven chapters are concerned with the theory and operation of nuclear reactors; then follow
three chapters on the separation of stable isotopes, on chemical processing of radioactive substances,
and special techniques encountered in nuclear engineering.
The author stresses his points by giving numerical examples wherever possible, and adds a large
selection of practical problems at the end of each chapter. The chapter on radiation shielding is the
first attempt at a comprehensive account which the reviewer has seen in any text book.
In trying to oversimplify the treatment in the earlier chapters of the book, the author makes
statements which have later to be contradicted. For example, on pages 62 and 63, the impression
is given that the fast fission factor is an invariant quantity, whereas on page 112, it is stated that E
depends on the size and spacing of the uranium lumps in a heterogeneous reactor. However, this
is a minor criticism, and the book is to be commended to all engineers who wish to have a working
knowledge of this subject. It is well illustrated, is clearly written and is relatively free from misprints.

D. J. LITTLER

The Elements of Nuclear Reactor Theory. By S. GLASSTONE and M. C. EDLUND. D. Van Nostrand
Company, Ltd. 416 pp. 35s.

THIS is the first comprehensive text book on Nuclear Reactor Theory to be published, and is meant
as an introduction to the subject to graduate physicists and engineers. The book is divided into
fourteen chapters; the first four chapters deal with nuclear physics, and give a good account of
neutron reactions and the fission process; the next seven chapters deal with the theory of thermal
neutron reactors; finally, there are three chapters on the general theory of homogeneous multiplying
systems, perturbation theory and transport theory.
The book fulfills a long-felt need as a textbook required for the teaching of those people new to
the Atomic Energy field. The mathematics is very clearly written and the solutions of the differential
equations are given in great detail. The reviewer would, however, like to see a more concise treatment
of slowing down theory and resonance escape probability than that given at the end of Chapter 6,
in future editions of the book.
The book seems to be very free of misprints (so far the reviewer has detected only one-Bessel’s
modified differential equation is wrongly defined on page 212), is well illustrated by many diagrams,
and has a comprehensive index. The book can be wholeheartedly recommended as an introduction
to Reactor Theory.
D. J. LITTLER

By Dr. D. J. HUGHES. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Pile Neutron Research. Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, Inc. 416 pp. S8.95.

FEW fields of scientific endeavour can have had such a startlingly rapid development as neutron
physics. Since the first nuclear reactor was built twelve years ago the neutron sources available for
research have been constantly growing both in number and intensity. The experimental staffs have
grown accordingly, so that by now many hundreds of man-years must have been devoted to the
utilization of “pile neutrons.” Prior to the publication of Dr. HUGHES’book there had been no
serious attempt to present the results of this work in text-book form, and the newcomer to the subject
found himself faced with a jungle of disconnected and sometimes contradictory reports.
It says a great deal for the author’s powers of exposition that he has produced a book that \vill
undoubtedly remain a valuable introduction to the subject for some years to come. without demanding
from his reader a standard higher than that of an honours degree in physics. The field covered is
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