Loyce J. McIlhenny

“ The Understanding the Atom Series
Nuclear energy is playing a vital role in the life of every man, woman, and child in the United States today. In the years ahead it will affect increasingly all the peoples of the earth. It is essential that all Americans gain an understanding of this vital force if they are to discharge thoughtfully their responsibilities as citizens and if they are to realize fully the myriad benefits that nuclear energy offers them. ”

“ After he completes his formal education, the scientist sets about to investigate the world, for that’s what science is all about. The methods he uses to carry out his investigations depend on his particular field. It is impossible to outline what an individual scientist does because he may do any of a thousand things in any of a thousand ways. ”

“ Botanists use radioactivity to learn more about plants, and zoologists use it to study animals. Chemists investigate compounds with radioisotopes. Physicists and mathematicians work out the intricate interrelations among the tiny particles of the atom. Agronomists use radioactive materials to improve fertilizers and crops, and nutritionists use them to improve animal diets.
A student—YOU—can find your career in atomic energy in any branch of science you choose because “atomics” is not a field unto itself divorced from the rest of the scientific world. ”

“ A nuclear chemist, or radiochemist, specializes just as his name implies. He studies the effects of radiation on chemical substances, notes how chemical reactions are altered by the introduction of radioactivity, and analyzes the nature of nuclear energy materials and products.
When an experiment or a scientific application requires a purified compound, the chemist goes to work. When a substance is to be altered so that it takes on a different form, the chemist takes over. ”

“ Within the framework of his interest, the practicing nuclear physicist may conduct basic or theoretical research to add to the body of scientific knowledge. He may design equipment to carry out new types of research. He may apply the principles of his science to improving the standard of living, as he did by developing the nuclear-power plants. He may work to improve nuclear weapons, to aid space travel, or to devise nuclear medical instrumentation for use by physicians. He has a place in one of the countless efforts that involve nuclear reactions and radioactivity. ”

“ Girls have no reason to feel that any branch of science, including nuclear technology and engineering, is strictly a “man’s job.”
Beginning now, you can supplement your studies by exploring science through books. You can go to your school library and to your public library for reading material. Teachers and librarians can help you select material.
The doors of knowledge can open, however, only as rapidly as you can read. The sheer bulk of scientific literature in print today is staggering. Any student who is a slow reader should seek immediate help from his teachers. ”

“ A computer, however, doesn’t replace the mathematician any more than an adding machine replaces an accountant. The mathematician must help to design the computer, understand what material to store in its memory banks, know how to feed problems into it, and be able to read the results that come out. ”

“ Even in an age of specialization, the interrelation of the sciences has made it necessary for a scientist to have at least a speaking acquaintance with areas outside his own field. A chemist, for example, may find himself involved in biology; the research interests of a biologist may lead him into physics. ”

“ With the growing demand for scientists comes an increasing need for science teachers—good science teachers—from the elementary through the university graduate-school level. The scientist who enters the teaching profession need not feel that he turns his back on a research career. Thousands of significant investigations and discoveries are made at colleges and universities where science faculty members combine teaching with research. ”

“ With increased national attention focused on scientific activities, some people have developed strange notions about the man who wears a lab coat. Scientists have a high degree of objectivity in the laboratory, but they usually are not different from the rest of society in matters of religion, marriage, parenthood, or politics. Often they don’t adhere to a strict eight-hour day, but neither does a salesman. They may seem unusually dedicated to their profession, but so does a master chef. They rarely are geniuses; sometimes they have superior intelligence ”

“ There are in the United States today about 2000 individuals who are engaged in a profession that did not even exist twenty years ago: these are the health physicists, who are neither medical men nor physicists. They have backgrounds in physics, true, and they combine this training with training in physiology, botany, chemistry, mathematics, and instrumentation.
It is the duty of the health physicist to evaluate and control any potential hazard in the use of nuclear energy. The health physicist understands the effects of radiation on human tissues and plants. ”

“ Biology deals with the structure and behavior of plants and animals: the botanist studies plants, the zoologist studies animals, and they both can use radioactivity widely in their research.
Radiation changes the pattern of plant behavior, and many botanists are vitally interested in the effect of various types of radiation on seeds and plant growth. Radiation can produce mutations, or basic changes, in growing things; thus, by selective breeding of desirable changes, it is possible to improve crops. ”

“ In the light of modern developments, a reading knowledge of Russian might well be added to the list, and, as other countries and cultures expand their technologies, familiarity with still other languages may become necessary. (Indeed, a number of scientists who completed doctoral degrees years ago have recently begun to study Russian. This is not surprising since the education of a true scientist never stops with an academic degree, a job appointment, or a significant discovery.)
The most brilliant physicist on earth is of doubtful worth if he can’t communicate his ideas to other people. ”

“ A nuclear physicist concentrates his investigations on the atom. The subject of his research is, of course, incredibly tiny, and therefore invisible to him, but he studies the atom by finding out how it behaves when certain things are done to it.
To accomplish this, the nuclear physicist centers his day-to-day activities around equipment such as particle accelerators and nuclear reactors, which he uses to shoot nuclear particles into materials. ”

“ Unlimited opportunities are found in private industry. Most industries have extensive research and development programs, as well as production activities. In addition to [Pg 21] the industries that are engaged primarily in the design and fabrication of nuclear and electronic equipment, hundreds of industries use radioisotopes and radiation in tracing, testing, development, inspection, and quality control.
Opportunities are open to the scientist who wishes to work for himself. He may organize his own company to provide self-employment or he may serve as a private consultant. ”

“ In addition to altering plants directly by radiation, the botanist can improve plants indirectly by using radiation: he can add radioactivity to fertilizer and evaluate the efficiency of its uptake by the plant to determine the most effective fertilizer for a particular soil or crop. The many, and sometimes seemingly strange, effects of radioactivity on plants and growing conditions provide a wide and fascinating field for the botanist. ”

“ Most people are familiar with the broad academic breakdown of the sciences into physics, chemistry, biology, geology, engineering, and mathematics. It is therefore convenient to examine the activities of scientific personnel in each of these areas, as well as medicine, with emphasis on the nuclear energy aspects of each.
Physics
The physicist is dedicated to investigating the laws that govern the universe. He explores gravity, motion, mass, energy, and the myriad interrelated ways that the world is constructed to gain an understanding of his physical surroundings. ”

“ However, when mathematics becomes too complex, the mathematician puts aside his pencil and paper and turns to an electronic computer. Since computers can carry out mathematical calculations from 100 to 1,000,000 times as fast as a human being, they are necessary today and will be essential tomorrow.
The much-publicized electronic computers are vital in modern science, but they can’t add two and two without trained personnel to operate them. ”

“ Although it is common for a student to change his primary interest from one science to another during his college training, he should have in mind from the beginning the sort of broad career he wants and the amount of time that preparation will take.
For example, a bachelor’s degree in one of the physical or geological sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, archaeology, agriculture, metallurgy, or mathematics usually requires four years. Some engineering programs require five. ”

“ Although the basic salary scale for the science teacher is not normally as high as that of the industrial scientist, this situation is improving. Moreover, many college faculty members augment their salaries and keep in touch with new developments by acting as part-time consultants to industry and government. A scientific teaching career offers certain advantages: frequently the professor enjoys greater freedom than the industrial scientist in budgeting time and channeling interests, and teachers also experience the satisfaction of developing human minds. ”

“ This preparation advances through general science, algebra, biology, chemistry, physics, geometry, and trigonometry. The aspiring scientist will be wise to lay the groundwork for his future long before he reaches college by studying as much mathematics and science as he can handle. Although many a now-successful chemist entered college without knowing how to balance an equation, keen competition today demands that college freshmen have a solid foundation in mathematics and science. ”

“ As most people know, radiation also affects animal tissue. The zoologist wants to know how and why this is true and how varying conditions alter animal reactions to radiation. The research of the animal physiologist is basic to later medical applications of radiation to human beings. The veterinary scientist has the grave responsibility of testing radioisotopes, radiation drugs, chemicals, surgical procedures, and various combinations of these in animals to determine which can be used to diagnose or cure disease in man. ”

“ Especially if she enters the field of nuclear medicine or if she is associated with a physician or organization engaged in the clinical use of radiation and radioisotopes, she will need a background in physics in addition to her study of chemistry and the life sciences.
Many colleges and universities offer two-year programs that lead to a certificate qualifying a student as a laboratory aide. The laboratory aide, or assistant, performs assigned duties under close supervision. He does not conduct actual research, but he supplies the scientist with an extra pair of hands. ”

“ The engineer is the how-to-do-it man. This technical man of action comes in many varieties—mechanical, electrical, [Pg 16] metallurgical, ceramic, industrial, civil, instrument, and chemical, to name a few. ”

“ In the field of nuclear energy, the mechanical engineer shoulders the responsibility for designing, supervising construction, and guiding the functions of the giant accelerators, nuclear reactors, atomic-propulsion plants, space-ship engines, and other mechanical equipment that must be constantly devised, improved, constructed, and redesigned. ”

“ Traditionally engineering has been somewhat different. Many engineers held responsible jobs after receiving only a bachelor’s degree. Some did earn a master’s degree, but few studied for a doctorate.
In the last ten years, however, this trend has changed with many more engineers receiving master’s and doctor’s degrees. Advanced study is especially important for a career in the nuclear field because the undergraduate years are filled mainly with basic engineering, and most nuclear courses must be taken at the graduate level. ”

“ The graduate scientist and the engineer will find jobs waiting and will be able to choose, to some extent, the sort of work they wish to do and where they wish to do it.
It is impossible to list all types of organizations open to science graduates, but it is relatively simple to divide them into general groups. ”

“ The geologist has a vital place in the field of atomic energy since he helps provide the raw materials for nuclear processes. The atomic age has made radioactive materials essential to life, and the geologist must locate valuable deposits, determine their extent, analyze their purity, and plan their extraction. ”

“ The bachelor’s degree is not a research degree, and team members without graduate training are not likely to direct research. They probably spend their time conducting fairly routine research duties under the guidance of more highly trained supervisors. ”

“ Further, if you want to do serious scientific study, ask your teachers to outline science projects that you can undertake after school or during free periods. Many projects that are both educational and fun can be undertaken without costly equipment or a complete laboratory. ”