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Nuclear News 40 Under 40 discuss the future of nuclear
Seven members of the inaugural Nuclear News 40 Under 40 came together on March 4 to discuss the current state of nuclear energy and what the future might hold for science, industry, and the public in terms of nuclear development.
To hear more insights from this talented group of young professionals, watch the “40 Under 40 Roundtable: Perspectives from Nuclear’s Rising Stars” on the ANS website.
J. C. Engdahl, G. F. Knoll, J. C. Robertson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 78 | Number 1 | May 1981 | Pages 44-52
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE81-A19605
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 6Li(n,α)3H cross section for antimony-beryllium photoneutrons has been absolutely determined. The measurement is independent of any other measured cross sections except for correction factors totaling no more than 10%. Independent measurements of the reaction rate, neutron source strength, and number of target nuclei were performed. The reaction rate was determined by manually counting alpha-particle tracks that were recorded and etched in a cellulose nitrate track recording detector. The reaction rate was determined from the weighted sum of five rotated detector counts. The antimony-beryllium source emission rate was determined by comparison with the secondary national neutron standard, NBS-2, in the University of Michigan manganese bath. The number of target nuclei was determined by microbalance weighings before and after vapor deposition. Correction factors were applied for the spectrum of neutrons emitted by the source, neutrons that scatter from laboratory walls and structure, and spectral effects in the manganese bath. The neutron spectrum was calculated by a Monte Carlo program, and weighting the spectrum with the cross-section shape allowed normalization to the primary centroid neutron energy. A value of 0.945 ± 0.023 b was obtained for the 6Li(n,α)3H cross section at 23 keV. The angular distribution of alpha particles in the laboratory frame was found to be well represented by the expression where θ is the polar angle to the neutron direction. All uncorrelated errors are summed in quadrature and are quoted as one standard deviation.