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.
The chemist studies the composition of substances.
For centuries man has known that various combinations and recombinations of substances produce other materials with different properties, and it is the chemist who combines and recombines.
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. He develops better fuels for automobiles and space craft, better fibers for shirts and parachutes, better plastics for kitchens and submarines.
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. Progress here is slow. Many millions of possibilities exist in the relations among the variety of plants, type and intensity of radiation, random chance, and other growing conditions, but already several new plant breeds have emerged, and other crops are bound to follow.