Discusses the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896. Describes his experiments and communications. (JRH)

This textbook is a course on properties of heat. The first seven lectures of the course deal with "thermometric heat" and its generation and consumption in mechanical processes; the determination of the mechanical equivalent of heat; the conception of heat as molecular motion; the application of this conception to the solid, liquid, and…

Traces the development of basic radiation physics that underlies much of today's medical physics and looks separately at the historical development of two major subfields of medical physics: radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. Indicates that radiation physics has made important contributions to solving biomedical problems in medical…

Discusses 5 innovative experiments conducted by Rutherford in early 1900s utilizing the 30 milligrams of radium salt he personally carried from Europe to Canada in 1903. Traces his work with alpha particles from his original results which determined their nature, charge, and mass, to his technique of backscattering which helped to advance…

Traces the life and research techniques of Marie Curie's doctoral dissertation leading to the discovery and purification of radium from ore. Reexamines the discoveries of other scientists that helped lead to this separation. (ML)