ABSTRACT
Radiological weapons include nuclear bombs and radiological dispersion devices or dirty bombs. In order to understand the differences between nuclear bombs and dirty bombs, it is necessary to understand the fundamental principles of atomic and nuclear physics. Therefore, this chapter brie£y describes only those concepts of physics that are essential for an understanding of this difference. These principles are discussed in a broad and conceptual form that can be understood by radiation biologists and medical professionals. Some important references on the subject are listed at the end of this chapter.1-17
In 1913, Dr. Neils Bohr proposed the structure of an atom. According to his concept, an atom consists of a central mass called the nucleus, which is surrounded by the orbital electrons, which are negatively charged (Figure 2.1). The nucleus of the atom is composed of two particles, a proton, which has a positive charge, and neutron, which has no charge. Later, Bohr’s concept of the atom, with sharply deœned electron orbits, was replaced by the electron cloud theory, which treats electrons as a kind of three-dimensional cloud spread around the nucleus as electron waves. However, in order to conceptually visualize the structure of the atom, Bohr’s concept has been used in Figure 2.1.
