Yield and Energy Distribution of Neutrons Resulting from the Interaction of 14-Mev Neutrons with Li6 and Li7 (open access)

Yield and Energy Distribution of Neutrons Resulting from the Interaction of 14-Mev Neutrons with Li6 and Li7

The yield and energy distribution of the lower-energy neutrons resulting from interaction of 14-Mev neutrons with Li6 and Li7 have been measured in the energy range between 4 and 12 Mev. A coincidence spectrometer was used to detect the neutrons from a scatterer in the form of a spherical shell placed around the neutron source. By use of the spectrometer as a threshold detector, transmission measurements were also made, from which could be determined the elastic cross section for scattered neutrons above 12 Mev. The result is in agreement with the measurement of Graves of the amount of small-angle elastic scattering. Using the known total cross section of Li6, the known reaction cross sections, and the present measurements, a complete “audit” of the interacted neutrons is made. Qualitatively, one-half of the total cross section is due to small-angle elastic scattering, and all inelastic processes result in lower energy neutrons spread rather uniformly in the region from zero to 12 Mev. Measurement using a thin iron sphere gave a neutron spectrum in good agreement with previous results of Graves and Rosen.
Date: September 1953
Creator: Ribe, Fred L.
System: The UNT Digital Library