Abstract
A REACTION of considerable interest in connexion with Bethe's theory of energy production in the stars1 is that involving the capture of protons by the isotope of nitrogen 14N. 14N + 1H → 15O + hv, . . . (1) since this process is one of those involved in his cyclical scheme of nuclear processes. The occurrence of this process was detected by measuring the radioactivity produced in targets of sodium nitride (found to be one of the few compounds of nitrogen that is stable under bombardment). The period of the radioactivity was two minutes, in agreement with the known value2 for 15O, and the excitation function for the reaction is as shown in Curve A in the accompanying graph. Some slight evidence of resonance features is present, but the low yield of the active product prevented very accurate measurement. The yield was found to be 1·5 × 10-11 positrons per proton of energy 0·96 × 106 ev.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Bethe, Phys. Rev., 55, 434 (1939).
McMillan and Livingstone, Phys. Rev., 47, 452 (1935).
Du Bridge, Barnes and Buck, Phys. Rev., 51, 995 (1937).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CURRAN, S., STROTHERS, J. Bombardment of Nitrogen and Oxygen with Protons. Nature 145, 224 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145224a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145224a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.