Chemical Effects of Ionizing Radiations

Abstract

IN 1944 it was suggested¹ that the primary net process in the action of penetrating radiations (γ-rays, X-rays, etc.) on the water molecule consists in its splitting in the following way: which presumably takes place by way of the formation of H₂O⁺ and H₂O^—. All the known chemical effects in aqueous solutions can be interpreted on this basis^1,2, which furthermore permits an adequate description of the biological effects of radiations^3,4. Recently, Dainton⁵ found that acrylonitrile in dilute aqueous solution on irradiation by X-rays or γ-rays shows polymerization, which he attributed to the action of primarily formed hydroxyl radicals (according to the above scheme) in view of the fact that these radicals are known to initiate polymerizations⁶.