Abstract
The action of ionizing radiations on water and aqueous
solutions has been the subject of investigation for many
years. In that time a considerable amount of quantitative
evidence has been accumulated, but agreement between different
authors is limited. The chemical effects produced by radiation
are fairly well known, but the physical action which produces
the reactive species is not very well understood. Theoretical
work is based mainly on results obtained in the gas phase and
the extrapolation to the condensed state is not necessarily
valid. The following brief survey covers the most generally
accepted evidence and the theories which have been developed
from it.
Because ionization is the most conspicuous feature of the
radiations involved, emphasis has been directed on the ions as
the source of the chemical action, although, depending on the
system, only about half the energy of the radiation is used in
their production. The possible role of excitation, although
recognized, has received much less attention.
