Ronald Koprowski, aged 12, of Denver, Colorado, for his question:

What is nuclear therapy

The word nuclear means a center or kernel. In atomic science it is used to mean the center, or core of the atom. Each tiny atom is a storehouse of energy. Some of this energy is in the electron shells of the atom. But most of it is held tight in the protons and neutrons that form the nucleus of the atom.

An electric current loosens the electron shells. It is far harder to break the nucleus and free the pent‑up energy in the heart of the atom. Nuclear science is the study of this kind of atom smashing.

The word therapy is coined from an older word meaning servant. It has come to mean tending, curing or healing. Can healing come from bursting an atom? Yes, it can. True, our atomic piles produce destructive bombs. But they also produce materials useful in nuclear therapy ‑ therapy from atomic energy,Minute particles fly in all directions when an atomic nucleus breaks apart. Some of these particles effect: other. atoms, making them radioactive. Some of these atoms are harmless to the body. They can be used as detectives to trace the workings of the body. Other particles and specially treated and specially treated atoms have been found to actually cure diseases of the body. And the science of nuclear therapy is still in its babyhood.