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INL reports findings on unusual quantum behavior of plutonium
Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that plutonium hexaboride (PuB6) displays a type of unusual quantum property called a topological Kondo insulating state. Materials with this property are neither typical electricity conductors nor regular insulators. Rather, they have exterior surfaces that strongly conduct electricity and interiors that block electricity.
Ming-Shih Lu, Theodor Teichmann
Nuclear Technology | Volume 102 | Number 2 | May 1993 | Pages 196-209
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34817
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The error characteristics of both high-resolution gamma spectroscopy and high-level neutron coincidence (HLNC) measurements, separate or combined, are discussed as they apply to nondestructive analysis of plutonium-bearing materials. Expressions have been derived to estimate the overall variance in the 240Pu effective mass and in the total plutonium mass in terms of the specific contributions from uncertainties in the measurements, the pertinent physical variables (including isotopics and impurities), and the instrumental constants. Experimental data available in the published literature have been used to illustrate the error characteristics of the HLNC and the effects of isotopic error correlations associated with materials having different burnups.