Analytical Applications of Nuclear Techniques

Abstract

The contributions from some of the world’s leading nuclear analysts included in this book describe a variety of nuclear techniques and applications, such as those in the fields of environment and health, industrial processes, non-destructive testing, forensic and archaeological investigations and cosmochemistry, and in method validation. The descriptive articles demonstrate the advantages of nuclear techniques in, for example, analysing trace elements in submilligram samples in a single strand of hair or in kilogram samples of municipal waste. Halogenated organic compounds as well as major and trace inorganic constituents are analysed in a variety of solid and liquid matrices. Several different techniques are applied to investigate the authenticity of art objects and the origin of extraterrestrial material. Many applications of nuclear analytical techniques in industrial process control or in the production of high-tech materials are described, highlighting the socioeconomic benefit of these techniques in our daily lives. The book is intended to stimulate students, teachers and non-nuclear scientists to take the ‘nuclear’ option into consideration when deciding on a new field of study or an alternative analytical technique.