TRIPARTITION IN THE SPONTANEOUS-FISSION DECAY OF Cf$sup 25$$sup 2$
The long-range alpha particles associated with the spontaneous-fission decay of Cf/sup 252/ were studied by nuclearemulsion techniques. The alpha- energy spectrum was found to peak at about 19 Mev with a half-width of lO Mev, and the preferential angle of emission was found to be slightly less than 90 deg with respect to the light fission fragment. The results support the view that alpha emission occurs at the time of scission and that the direction is determined by the extent of electrostatic repulsion by the fragments. A trend toward a more nearly symmetric mass division in fission accompanied by alpha emission is indicated. The frequency of occurrence of the long-range alpha particles was observed to be l in 415 plus or minus 10% binary fissions. Ternary events consisting of two heavy fragments and one light fragment of short range were observed, but the frequency with which these events occur was not measured. A parallel search was made for ternary-fission events in which fragmentation into comparable masses occurs. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-006862
- OSTI ID:
- 4124996
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-9044; 0031-899X
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D, Vol. Vol: 121; Other Information: UCRL-9044. Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-61
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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