Production of 239 Pu from a natural Uranium disk and "hot" rock using a neutron howitzer
Joseph Steiner, Aaron Anderson, Michael De Marco
TL;DR
This study demonstrates the production of plutonium-239 from natural uranium and hot rock targets using a neutron howitzer, with gamma-ray detection confirming the presence of 239Pu through its decay product 239Np.
Contribution
It presents a novel application of a neutron howitzer to produce 239Pu from natural materials and confirms its production via gamma-ray spectroscopy.
Findings
Produced 239Np from natural U and hot rock targets
Detected gamma rays confirming 239Np decay with a half-life of 2.3 days
Demonstrated 239Pu production in both targets
Abstract
A neutron howitzer was used to produce 239Np from the targets of natural U and a hot rock. An intrinsic Germanium detector enabled the observations of the gamma rays in the decay of 239Np and a determination of its half life of 2.3 days. This shows that 239Pu had been produced in both targets
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Taxonomy
TopicsNuclear Physics and Applications · Radioactive contamination and transfer · Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies