Book excerpt: This book describes the physical and chemical effects of radiation interaction with matter. Beginning with the physical basis for the absorption of charged particle radiations, Fundamentals of Radiation Chemistry provides a systematic account of the formation of products, including the nature and properties of intermediate species. Developed from first principles, the coverage of fundamentals and applications will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience of radiation physicists and radiation biologists. Only an undergraduate background in chemistry and physics is assumed as a prerequisite for the understanding of applications in research and industry. - Provides a working knowledge of radiation effects for students and non-experts - Stresses the role of the electron both as a radiation and as a reactant species - Contains clear diagrams of track models - Includes a chapter on applications - Written by an expert with more than thirty years of experience in a premiere research laboratory - Culled from the author's painstaking research of journals and other publications over several decades