This area is for discussions involving any fusion related radiation metrology issues. Neutrons are the key signature of fusion, but other radiations are of interest to the amateur fusioneer as well.
1) Is a gamma ray emitted after alpha or beta has been ejected from the nucleus?
2) what happens when the neutron slams into the nucelus? I know that the electromagnetic force will push then apart but what does a neutron have to with starting that?
3) Why do some elements fission instead of undergoing decay?
4)Why do some elements fission with slow neutrons (U235)? while others fission with fast neutrons(U238)?
Alex
these are good questions that a Google search would have answered for you.
What a nuclear reaction results in depends on many things
For a start if a helium nucleus is ejected this is called an "Alpha" and is a particle
A beta is an Electron another particle albeit very much lighter
and a gamma is a photon that is produced by exciting the nucleus and when this excitation returns to normal state this is when the gamma is emitted.
What a neutron does when interacting with a nucleus has a lot to do with the cross section (chance of the neutron mucking around with the nucleus) this is measured in "Barns"
As a general rule the lighter the element the higher the cross section --so this is why neutron shielding uses hydrogen rich material to intersect the neutrons and slow them down ie lose energy.
Various isotopes of the same element have very different neutron cross sections.
all the rest for more info ------Google is your friend
Thanks John but i was wondering what does the neutron do to the atom to cause it to split.?
Ex: U238 bombarded by fast neutrons fission's. While U235=8 bombarded with slow neutrons absorbs the neutron and undergoes beta decay. Why would U238 decay when absorbing but then split when being hit . Another example Li 7 is stable but when Li 6 absorbs a neutron it trans-mutates to Li 7 which then decays via alpha
What does the neutron do to the nucleus to cause it to do decay or split?
U-238 fissions just sitting on a table. Slow, but it self-fissions; it doesn't have to be hit by anyhting.
What happens when an element is hit with a neutron, be it fast or slow, can vary based on a number of scenarios and conditional chance occurances. Most heavy fertile and fissionable atoms are more than ready to break apart due to an over abundance of protons. So, in many cases, throwing in another neutron is the straw that will break the camels back. Lighter elements never fission when capturing a neutron. They can become radioactive and decay in a fraction of a second, a minute, a day, a year or two, etc. They usual emit a beta or a gamma or both, becoming either another element or an isotope of the same element. It is tough to get a light metallic element to throw off an alpha particle.
There are general rules that can be applied,but they vary up and down the periodic table as to what will happen when an atom absorbs a slow neutron or gets hit by an extremely fast neutron.
This is something that might take a year or two of concentrated study to become proficient at.
Simple pat answers are not forthcoming that fit all cases with all elements.
Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
