Abstract
NUCLEAR reactions induced by neutrons in meteorites have been discussed by a number of authors1–6. A few radioactive and stable isotopes, produced mainly by thermal and epithermal neutrons, have been measured7–15, but there is not much direct information on the flux of fast neutrons (E≳1 MeV). The most sensitive indicator of fast neutrons, the phosphorus-32 produced by 32S(n,p) reactions, has been used only once11, partly because of the short half-life of phosphorus-32, 14.3 days. Furthermore, in the one measurement of phosphorus-32, only the activity of the bulk sample was determined, that is, no attempt was made to distinguish between the component produced by spallation and that produced by the 32S(n,p) reaction.
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BEGEMANN, F., VILCSEK, E. & WÄNKE, H. Neutron produced Phosphorus-32 in the Barwell and St. Severin Meteorites. Nature 213, 52–53 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/213052a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/213052a0
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