Philosophy and Atomic Physics Accelerator

NATURE VOL. 227 AUGUST 22 1970 867 Professor R. A. Morton has assembled a distinguished which is considered to be just as real at the atomic level as t~am of ~uthors to review all aspects of the chemistry and i~ classical mechanics. But the author totally fails to con bwchem1stry of the fat. soluble vitamins and their sig vmce the reade~ that this conception of the atomic object mficance, role and use m human and animal nutrition. IS concordant w1th the experimental basis of wave mecha ~fter an introductory chapter setting the field in perspec nics; that is, with the basis of quantum theory itself. tive, chapters are devoted to the chemical structure and The principle of complementarity is very sketchily dis physical properties of the vitamins, their biosynthesis cussed, but it is said to bo very important to the philo and their bioassay. The biochemistry of vitamins A, D sophical considerations. It seems, however, as if the author and K is discussed in separate articles and there is a has not grasped the principle fully, because he persists in comprehensive chapter on the tocopherols. The mode of speaking of disturbance of atomic objects by observation. action of the fat soluble vitamins is still largely unknown, According to Bohr, this way of talking should be avoided but the well established role of vitamin A in vision is because it implies the existence of a world of undisturbed discussed in some detail. By way of digression an article physical objects, which is fundamentally non-observable. is given to lipoic acid which, although not generally classed An analysis of Bohr's phenomenon-centred terminology ~s a vitamin because it is not required by higher animals, would have been appropriate, at least as an alternative to IS a growth factor for some microorganisms and has a the ontological point of view. clearly defined biochemical role. The remaining chapters Thus I find the philosoph.ical part of the book rather are concerned with the more technological aspects of the confusing and also t edious. The same ontological view synthesis and utilization of the fat soluble vitamins and points are repeated under different headings, but without with their application in practical nutrition. clarification of tho central epistemological problems. Th.is volume is a useful and self-contained book. The 1'. BERGSTEIK individual chapters are well written and, although differing somewhat in their breadth and depth of treatment, they all inelude adequate references to sources of further information. Unfortunatelv it is evident that most of the ACCELERATOR PHYSICS articles were completed during 1967. While it is recognized that a book of this sort can never be absolutely up to date, Intermediate Energy Nuclear Physics it is clear that the long term value of the encyclopaedia will I3y W. 0. Lock and D . .F. Measday. Pp. xiii+ 320. largely depend on the ability of the editors to carry out (Methuen: London, April 1970.) 85s. their intention to provide continuous up-dating by pro THIS book is a revised and expandod edition of High Energy ducing an annual review to report recent advances in the Nuclear Physics by W. 0. Lock. It deals chiefly with the field;. covered. J. W. G. PoRTER nuclear and elementary particle physics which can be ex plored with accelerators in the energy range 100-1,000 MeV. The change in title does not reflect a change in content so much as the change in accelerator technology which has PHILOSOPHY AND ATOMIC PHYSICS occurred during the past 10 years. The book is intended as an introductory text for postgraduate students. Atomic Order The first four chapters contain a mixture of basic nuclear An Introduction to the Philosophy of Microphysics. By and elementary particle theory, a section on accelerators Enrico Cantore. Pp. xi+ 334. (MIT: Cambridge, Massa and experimental techniques and one on the propert ies of chust>tts, and London, April 1970.) ll7s. tho electrons, muons, neutrinos, pions, nucleons and some THE aim of the book is to contribute towards a better other light mesons and baryons. In the next four chapters understanding between the humanist and scientific cul tho experimental evidence is given on the interactions of tures, and the specific problem discussed is the lack of pions, photons, electrons and nucleons with nucleons. The communication between philosophers and scientists. The last three chapters describe the interactions of photons, method adopted is called inductive-genetic ; that is, the electrons, muons, pions and nucleons with nuclei. investigation is limited to a well established scientific This is an extremely wide field to cover in a single book discipline, namely atomic physics, and the intention is not and there is not enough space to give more than a super only to examine the consistency and completeness of ficial treatment of many of the topics. It therefore seems a quantum theory, but also to show how the gradual pity that some space has been used to reproduce basic gathering of experimental evidence has necessitated the theory which can be found in most books on quantum formation of the theory. The investigation is meant to mechanics. The most useful chapters will probably be those serve as the basis for discussing the interdependence of on the int0ractions between elementary particles and scienee and philosophy. nucleons, and here the text is supplemented by many In the first half of the book, the author gives a survey of graphs of experimental results. The experiments are dis atomic physics, and, first of all, he succeeds in explaining cussed in the light of predictions of modern conservation how quantum theory is able to account for all the evidence laws and symmetries. A useful feature is the bibliography about atoms and atomic aggregates. Calculations arc and the long list of references given for each chapter. omitt.cd, but essential experimental results are amply pre It would have been more satisfactory if certain sections sented in tables and diagrams, and there are plenty of of this book had either been expanded considerably or left refert>nccs for further readings. As to the philosophical out, but many people will find it useful as a rather broad analysis, it is essentially ontological. According to tho review of the subject. R. C. BARRETT author, to observe an atomic object it is necessary to dis turb it; that is, the object must interact with the instru ments of observation, and, because of the existence of the fundamental quantum of action, we have uncertainty FORMULAE FOR ASTROPHYSICISTS relations. But what is then the atomic object, the undis Elementary Processes for Cosmic Ray Astrophysics turbed state of which it is fundamentally impossible to By V. L. Ginzburg. (Topics in Astrophysics and Space observe ? To the author it seems to be an essentially classi Physics, No. 1.) Pp. viii+ 131. (Gordon and Breach: cal particle, for, when talking about the wave function New York and London, April 1970.) 105s ($12.60) representing tho atomic object in quantum theory, he boards; 70s ( $8.40) paper. states that the microentity certainly does not fill up the entire volume occupied by tlw wave, but remains a con THis book is based on the lecture course which the author centrated piece of matter all the time (p. 241). In fact, this prepared for the 1966 Summer School in Les Houches, idea is further developed using t.he concept of local motion, but which was never actually presented, with the addition © 1970 Nature Publishing Group.

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