A complete table of radioactive isotopes excluding [alpha] emitters has been prepared and arranged in the order of increasing half-life.

Nuclear structure and decay data for thousands of isotopes and isomers - a new update of the definitive reference. The 1999 Table of Isotopes booklet set features: * Nuclear structure and radioactive decay data for approximately 3,700 isotopes and isomers - an increase of more than 100 since the 1998 Update. * Up-to-date mass chain information, with more than 10% revised material. * The latest versions as of December 1998 of the Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) and Nuclear Science Reference (NSR) file. * Additional data from several evaluation sources, including The Table of Superdeformed Nuclear Bands and Fission Isomers. * Updated isotope summary table as well as energy-ordered gamma ray and alpha particle tables-now included on the software (available from the book's website at www.wiley-vch.de/books/info/0-471-35633-6). * Updated appendices for elemental data, nuclear charts, and gamma ray energy standards. * Adoption of the 1997 IUPAC recommended heavy element names. * More than 25,000 references. * Convenient links to additional atomic mass, nuclear astrophysics rates, spontaneous fission, thermal neutron capture, and more. Plus, the Isotope Explorer 2.22 software lets you search the entire database by level scheme drawings, annotated tables, data plots, nuclear structure charts and keywords as well as download the latest data directly from the Table of Isotopes Web site. The 1999 Update booklet features a new comprehensive isotope nuclear structure table. In addition, it provides clear, step-by-step instructions on navigating the Table of Isotopes electronic content and accessing its Web site. System Requirements: PC, Macintosh(r), or UNIX(r) systems with double speed and sufficient RAM to run Adobe(TM) Acrobat(r) (see Adobe Acrobat Reader information in the book for specific system requirements). Included: Adobe Acrobat Reader(r) 3.02 for Windows(r) 95, 98, and NT and Linux 1.2.13 or higher; Acrobat Reader 3.01 for Windows 3.1; Isotope Explorer 2.22 for Windows 95, 98, and NT.

A convenient source of radiation data which incorporates the changes dictated by present-day science and computer technology, presented with a high degree of uniformity, completeness, and consistency in both the data and appendices. Includes tables of adopted properties for all radiations emitted by nuclei, which were derived from experimental data plus reliable calculations, along with adopted properties based on statistical analyses of existing experimental data alone. Other derived adopted properties (e.g. average photon energies per disintegration) are calculated when strong user demand is anticipated. Over 260 drawings accompany the text.

John Dalton first proposed the concept of atomic weights of the elements in the first decade of the nineteenth century. These atomic weights of the chemical elements were thought of as constants of nature, similar to the speed of light. Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the atomic weights of the elements in ascending order of value and used the systematic variation of their chemical properties to produce his Periodic Table of the Elements in 1869. Measurement of atomic weight values became an important chemical activity for a century and a half. Theodore Richards received a Noble Prize for his work in this area. In 1913, Fredrick Soddy found a species of radium, which had an atomic weight value of 228, compared to the familiar radium gas value of 226. Soddy coined the term 'isotope' (Greek for 'in the same place') to account for this second atomic weight value in the radium position of the Periodic Table. Both of these isotopes of radium are radioactive. Radioactive isotopes are energetically unstable and will decay (disintegrate) over time. The time it takes for one half of a sample of a given radioactive isotope to decay is the half-life of that isotope. In addition to having different atomic weight values, radium-226 and radium-228 also have different half-life values. Around the same time as Soddy's work, J.J. Thomson (discoverer of the electron) identified two stable (non-radioactive) isotopes of the same element, neon. Over the next 40 years, the majority of the known chemical elements were found to have two or more stable (or long-lived radioactive isotopes that contribute significantly to the determination of the atomic weights of the elements).

This Very Short Introduction traces the history and cultural impact of the elements on humankind, and examines why people have long sought to identify the substances around them. Looking beyond the Periodic Table, the author takes the reader on an engaging and entertaining tour: from the Greek philosophers who propounded a system with four elements - earth, air, fire, and water - to the modern-day scientists who are able to create their own.