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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
F. Käppeler, E. Pfletschinger
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 51 | Number 2 | June 1973 | Pages 124-129
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE73-A26588
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fission cross-section ratio 241pu:235U has been measured in the neutron energy range from 5 keV to 1.2 MeV with an accuracy between 3 and 4%. The neutron energy was determined by the time-of-flight method. Two identical gas scintillation chambers were used to detect the fission events. The present measurements were carried out at sufficiently fine energy intervals to show for the first time the detailed shape of the fission cross-section ratio. In contrast to the results of other authors, a distinct structure was found. A comparison with an evaluation by Davey of previous data shows a systematic difference in shape up to 10% between 30 and 400 keV. At higher energies the evaluation generally agrees with the new data except in the region between 900 and 1000 keV, where the values of this work indicate a significant dip in the cross-section ratio.