Scientists use GEANIE to Study Isotopes of Iridium and Europium to Improve Radiochemical Diagnostics in Nuclear Devices

[摘要] Radiochemical diagnostics play an important role in helping scientists understand the detonation of a nuclear device. Sometimes some elements or isotopes are inserted as radiochemical detectors at various locations in the nuclear device. During the detonation of the device, these detectors are subjected for a short time to the intense flux of neutrons emitted through fission and possibly through fusion of light elements (usually deuterium and tritium). After the detonation, the radiochemical detectors and their long-lived activation products are retrieved from the area where the underground explosion took place. These radiochemical samples are analyzed to extract information about how the device operated. A large amount of such radiochemical data exist from past nuclear-device tests.

[发布日期] 2002-11-21 [发布机构] Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

[关键词] Fission;Europium;Underground Explosions;Tritium;Deuterium