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Neutron activation is the only common way that a stable material can be induced into becoming intrinsically radioactive. All naturally occurring materials, including air, water, and soil, can be induced (activated) by neutron capture into some amount of radioactivity in varying degrees, as a result of the production of neutron-rich radioisotopes.
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is a nuclear process used for determining the concentrations of elements in many materials. NAA allows discrete sampling of elements as it disregards the chemical form of a sample, and focuses solely on atomic nuclei. The method is based on neutron activation and thus requires a neutron source.
The action of neutrons on stable isotopes can form radioisotopes, for instance the neutron bombardment (neutron activation) of nitrogen-14 forms carbon-14. This radioisotope can be released from the nuclear fuel cycle ; this is the radioisotope responsible for the majority of the dose experienced by the population as a result of the activities ...
A neutron moisture meter is a moisture meter utilizing neutron scattering.The meters are most frequently used to measure the water content in soil or rock. The technique is non-destructive, and is sensitive to moisture in the bulk of the target material, not just at the surface.
An activation product is a material that has been made radioactive by the process of neutron activation.. Fission products and actinides produced by neutron absorption of nuclear fuel itself are normally referred to by those specific names, and activation product reserved for products of neutron capture by other materials, such as structural components of the nuclear reactor or nuclear bomb ...
The UREX process is a PUREX process which has been modified to prevent the plutonium being extracted. This can be done by adding a plutonium reductant before the first metal extraction step. In the UREX process, ~99.9% of the uranium and >95% of technetium are separated from each other and the other fission products and actinides. The key is ...
The boundaries of the valley of stability, that is, the upper limits of the valley walls, are the neutron drip line on the neutron-rich side, and the proton drip line on the proton-rich side. The nucleon drip lines are at the extremes of the neutron-proton ratio. At neutron–proton ratios beyond the drip lines, no nuclei can exist.
A neutron probe is a device used to measure the quantity of water present in soil. A typical neutron probe contains a pellet of americium-241 and beryllium . The alpha particles emitted by the decay of the americium collide with the light beryllium nuclei, producing fast neutrons .