reading materials

["Andrew Karam" <akaram@safety.rochester.edu>]

I have recently read a book and a Scientific American article that I think
may be of interest to some of you.  The book is called The Age of the
Earth, by G. Brent Dalrymple, one of the founders of isotopic dating
methods in geology.  It is published by Stanford University Press (1991).
The purpose of writing this book was to assemble in one place Dalrymple's
arguments in favor of an ancient earth, many of which were made during
court trials regarding the teaching of evolution in the classroom.  He has
also assembled a wonderful summary of how geologic dating techniques work,
why we are certain of their results, and how we gather these data.  Of
course, the majority of these techniques rely on radioactive decay, so the
book also provides a very tidy summary of the geological applications of U,
Th, and K  radioactivities in the earth.  In addition, Dalrymple goes over
many other methods previously used to try to determine the age of the
earth, summarized in a fascinating table.  All in all, this is a charming
book to read, especially for those of us with an interest in natural
radioactivities and the intersection of our profession with other fields.

The Scientific American article is in the September 1998 issue and talks
about the mechanics of making super-heavy elements.  It includes some of
the theory behind the super-heavies, a synopsis of making these elements in
the past, and describes their detection and some properties.  It was
interesting for me to read, although I've got to admit that I'm unlikely to
use this information in my job.  Also in this issue (but unread by me as of
yet) is an article on the evolution of the periodic table.  Looks
interesting; maybe I'll get to it at lunch tomorrow.

Andy

Andrew Karam, MS, CHP				
RSO, University of Rochester			  
(716) 275-3781 (voice)						
(716) 256-0365 (fax)
akaram@safety.rochester.edu

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled  but a fire to be lighted" 
 Plutarch
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