Radiation and Reason: The Impact of Science on a Culture of Fear by Wade Allison, York Publishing Service. Paperback ISBN 9780956275615, £15.
A little more than 20 years ago, Europe witnessed the dramatic accident in the fission reactor at Chernobyl. As international investigations confirmed, the accident was the result of a sinister recklessness whose origin probably lies in the economical collapse of the Soviet Union. That unthinkable accident cast unjustified doubts on the reliability of science and of nuclear technology. As some of us recall, society was pervaded by what Wade Allison at the University of Oxford calls, in his book Radiation and Reason, the “culture of fear".
The message of this book is, in a sense, rather provocative and can be summarized as follows: we should not confuse the fear of scientific and technological incompetence (like that leading to the catastrophe of Chernobyl) with the fear of ionizing radiation. However, while the majority of scholars and practitioners would certainly subscribe to the latter statement, not every physicist would concede that the requirements on radiation safety levels are, today, excessively demanding.
With well formulated arguments and plain language, Allison tries to convey the idea that life is far more radiation-hard than present safety requirements actually presume. One joule of deposited energy per kilogram, the gray (Gy), measures the dose absorbed by matter. The sievert (Sv) measures instead the dose absorbed by biological material and it depends on the so-called relative-biological effectiveness of the radiation, which is different for protons, for alpha particles and for gamma rays, for example. How many millisievert (mSv) can the human body tolerate either in one shot or during a whole lifetime? Is it too demanding to set an upper limit of 5 mSv of exposure during the entire life of a human being?
This is just a taste of the intriguing issues discussed in this book, which is not a technical treatise insofar as the author avoids complicated formulae. Still, the absence of technicalities does not prevent a quantitative approach to the main theme, with appropriate graphs, illustrations, diagrams and pie charts. The first four chapters are introductory and could be useful for readers with no background in physical sciences. From the fifth chapter onwards the core of the problem is tackled by starting with the single dose, the multiple dose and some interesting considerations on nuclear energy.
This book should provoke a healthy debate among radiation experts. Physicists and physicians interested in the interplay between science and society will also find in Radiation and Reason timely food for thought at a moment when some European countries are revising their energy policies. Despite their necessarily diverse opinions on these delicate themes, readers will probably concur with the general inspiration of the author: one of the few antidotes to the toxin of fear is a healthy Galilean approach – the only way to challenge prejudices is with direct empirical tests.
Massimo Giovannini, CERN and INFN (Milan-Bicocca).
Kann das alles Zufall sein? Geheimnisvolles Universum by Heinz Oberhummer, Ecowin-Verlag. Hardback ISBN 9783902404541, €22 (SFr38.90).
Outreach of science and technology is a big concern of the Austrian astrophysicist Heinz Oberhummer, of the University of Technology in Vienna. Since his retirement in 2006 he lectures regularly in Austrian high schools, has a weekly programme on one of the state’s radio channels and leads Austria’s participation in the project “Cinema and Science" (www.cisci.net). More exceptionally, he created the “science busters" cabaret (www.sciencebusters.at) to present scientific ideas to people who would not otherwise attend his regular popular-science evenings, fearing that they would be too difficult to follow (an idea triggered by talking to his hairdresser). Given Oberhummer’s enthusiasm, it is not surprising that his book Kann das alles Zufall sein? Geheimnisvolles Universum (Is it all by chance? Mysterious universe) received the prize for best science book in 2009 awarded by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Research.
The book spans a multitude of astrophysics topics that present our solar system, a tiny whirlpool on the periphery of a bigger one, our galaxy, which is itself an insignificant ring among innumerable other jewels that form larger-scale galaxy clusters to compose “our universe". But the story does not stop there. The concept of “multiverses" is also discussed, including a curious speculation: “The probability is large that in about 100 years’ time scientists will look back, concluding that the current decade was the one in which the concept of a universe was superseded by the multiverse." The reader will also learn about how the Sun produces its fuel, how the universe developed and which scientific evidence supports the Big Bang theory. Naturally, the concept of dark matter and dark energy are given deserved prominence, as is the equally puzzling excess of matter with respect to antimatter – no lack of exotic spices to please both the general public and those with a higher level of scientific literacy.
Given his long experience in interacting with interested audiences, Oberhummer does not miss asking some burning questions, such as: “What are the consequences of an asteroid hitting the Earth?", “Why was Pluto denied its status as a planet?", “How heavy would a teaspoon of neutron star be?", or “Der Urknall: Was hat geknallt?" (“The Big Bang: what made the bang?"). Equally appealing is his “story of the life of a shining star" and the discussion on whether water has been found anywhere else in our galaxy. While the first three chapters are purely scientific in scope, the last two raise questions of a more “fundamental" nature, including perspectives from philosophy and theology – something that is rarely done in science books. Arriving at the last page, the author does not forget to answer his own cover-page question: Is it all by pure chance?
I found the book interesting. It not only presents facts but discusses many of the latest scientific and conceptual questions, which are certain to stimulate interest among the general public to learn more about this branch of science. And, despite the author’s preference for one theory or another, he usually also discusses the other perspectives.
Hermine K Wöhri, Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas, Lisbon.
Books received
Quantum Leap: From Dirac and Feynman, Across the Universe, to Human Body and Mind by Vladimir G Ivancevic and Tijana T Ivancevic, World Scientific. Hardback ISBN 9789812819277, £92 ($166). E-book ISBN 9789812819284, $216.
Starting with both non-mathematical and mathematical preliminaries, this book presents the basics of non-relativistic and relativistic quantum mechanics, as well as non-quantum applications. It then describes the quantum universe in the form of loop quantum gravity and quantum cosmology. Lastly, it turns to the human body and mind, applying quantum theory to electro-muscular stimulation and consciousness.
Foundations of Quantum Chromodynamics: An Introduction to Perturbative Methods in Gauge Theories, 3rd edition, by T Muta, World Scientific. Hardback ISBN 9789812793539, £65 ($86). Paperback ISBN 9789812793546, £41 ($55).
Now in its third edition, this textbook for researchers and graduate students develops the techniques of perturbative QCD in great pedagogical detail, starting with field theory. Apart from extensive treatments of the renormalization group technique, the operator product expansion formalism and their applications to short-distance reactions, it provides a comprehensive introduction to gauge theories. Examples and exercises amplify the discussions on important topics.