Abstract
FERMI and his collaborators1 have reported that neutrons slowed down by collisions in substances containing hydrogen are captured by many nuclei very much more frequently than are fast neutrons. In the cases reported, the process is one of pure capture, resulting in the formation of a higher isotope. It is to be expected that slow neutrons may cause a nuclear transformation with the emission of heavy particles if energy can be released in the process. The probability of such a reaction will depend on the mutual kinetic energy and potential barrier of the resulting particles, and may be large when these quantities are of the same order of magnitude; this can in general only be expected for elements of low atomic number.
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References
Fermi, Amaldi, Pontecorvo, Rasetti and Segrè, Ricerca Scientifica.. V, 2, 282; 1934.
cf. Fermi, Pontecorvo, Rasetti, ibid., 380, 1934.
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CHADWICK, J., GOLDHABER, M. Disintegration by Slow Neutrons. Nature 135, 65 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135065a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135065a0
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