SPALLATION-FISSION COMPETITION IN NEPTUNIUM COMPOUND SYSTEMS. DECAY-SCHEME STUDIES (thesis)
The results of a radiochemical study of fission and spallation products induced in U/sup 234/, U/sup 235/, and U/sup 236 and spallation products induced in U/sup 238/ by deuterons of less than 24 Mev are presented. The (d,n) reactions are interpreted as the result of direct interactions between the deuteron and the target nuclei, while the (d,n) reactions are thought to be taking place primarily by compound-nucleus mechanisms. A method for predicting the peak values of the cross section for (d,xn) and ( alpha ,xn) reactions on uranium and plutonium isotopes is given for x = 2, 3, or 4. The peak-to-valley ratios of the fission-yield curves for U/sup 234, U/sup 235/, U/sup 236/, and U/ sup 238/ bombarded with deuterons of energies of about 23 Mev were studied, and no significant differences were found. Excitation functions for the (d, gamma ) reactions of U/sup 234/, U/sup 236/, and U/sup 238/ rise to a maximum of about a millibarn at a bombarding energy between 15 and 20 Mev. The results of these measurements are seen to be consistent with the excitation functions for (p, gamma ) and ( alpha , gamma ) reactions. The 60minute neptunium activity which had previously been assigned to Np/sup 241/ was identified as an isomer Np/sup 240/. Accompanying the decay of this Np/sup 240/ are gamma rays of energies 1160, 1000, 915, 595, 565, 435, 245, 16O, and 85 kev. Np/sup 241/ has now tentatively been found to have isomers with half lives of 16 minutes and 3.5 tours. A study of the decay properties of the new isotope Np/sup 241/ and also of Np/sup 233/ and Np/sup 234/ are described. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Berkeley, CA (US). Radiation Lab.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- NSA Number:
- NSA-13-005818
- OSTI ID:
- 4272692
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-8439
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-59
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Open questions on the environmental chemistry of radionuclides
ISOTOPES Np$sup 240$ AND Np$sup 24$$sup 1$
Related Subjects
ALPHA BEAMS
CAPTURE
COMPOUND NUCLEI
CROSS SECTIONS
DECAY
DEUTERON BEAMS
DISTRIBUTION
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITATION
FISSION
FISSION PRODUCTS
GAMMA RADIATION
HALF-LIFE
ISOMERS
MASS
MEASURED VALUES
NEPTUNIUM
NEPTUNIUM 233
NEPTUNIUM 234
NEPTUNIUM 240
NEPTUNIUM 241
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PROTON BEAMS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOCHEMISTRY
SPALLATION
STRIPPING
URANIUM 234
URANIUM 235
URANIUM 236
URANIUM 238