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The use of neutrons in investigations of nuclear structure goes back almost 50 years and constitutes one of the oldest fields of nuclear physics. In the 1920s and early 1930s, much of the groundwork for our present conceptions of nuclear structure was laid in Rutherford's Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England. Rutherford had speculated on the existence of the neutron as early as 1920' and considered how the elements could be built up through the interaction of such a neutral particle with the nucleus. Chadwick undertook a search for the neutron and, as we know, met with success in 1932.* Radiation occurring after the capture of alpha particles in lithium, beryllium, and boron was observed by Bothe and Becker in 1930,' and the corresponding capture radiation for neutrons was reported at Cambridge by Lea in 1934; who observed gamma rays in the bombardment of hydrogen by neutrons. Chadwick and Goldhaber reported the inverse reaction, the photodisintegration of deuterium, soon afterward.' The results of Lea were confirmed by F l e i s c h m a d in Heidelberg and by Fermi et aL7 soon afterward. Fermi pointed out the importance of slow, or "thermal" neutrons in initiating such reactions; Goldhaber' had questioned Lea's results on the basis of his photodisintegration work, since the cross section inferred from Lea's work was far too large to be consistent with the inverse reaction. It was only later that the importance of moderation of neutrons of hydrogenous materials was appreciated.The gross properties of the (n, y ) reaction were mapped out by these early workers using low-yield (a, n) sources and simple Geiger-Mueller detectors. Approximate energies, multiplicities, and intensities were established by the crude absorption techniques then available. These early experiments, combined with the discovery of fission in 1938, have profoundly influenced our lives, with an impact unique in the annals of science and technology. Today, the most important applications of nuclear physics still lie in the domain of neutron interactions, which are of paramount importance in fission and fusion reactor technology and in weapons applications.The subject of this paper, however, deals primarily with the use of neutrons as a tool in eliciting fundamental information on nuclear properties, and only secondarily with applications. As such a tool, neutron reactions have certain special properties that are not available in other reactions. Furthermore, the methods currently available for gamma-ray spectral studies applied to neutron-capture radiation have a precision and accuracy unmatched by other techniques.
The use of neutrons in investigations of nuclear structure goes back almost 50 years and constitutes one of the oldest fields of nuclear physics. In the 1920s and early 1930s, much of the groundwork for our present conceptions of nuclear structure was laid in Rutherford's Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England. Rutherford had speculated on the existence of the neutron as early as 1920' and considered how the elements could be built up through the interaction of such a neutral particle with the nucleus. Chadwick undertook a search for the neutron and, as we know, met with success in 1932.* Radiation occurring after the capture of alpha particles in lithium, beryllium, and boron was observed by Bothe and Becker in 1930,' and the corresponding capture radiation for neutrons was reported at Cambridge by Lea in 1934; who observed gamma rays in the bombardment of hydrogen by neutrons. Chadwick and Goldhaber reported the inverse reaction, the photodisintegration of deuterium, soon afterward.' The results of Lea were confirmed by F l e i s c h m a d in Heidelberg and by Fermi et aL7 soon afterward. Fermi pointed out the importance of slow, or "thermal" neutrons in initiating such reactions; Goldhaber' had questioned Lea's results on the basis of his photodisintegration work, since the cross section inferred from Lea's work was far too large to be consistent with the inverse reaction. It was only later that the importance of moderation of neutrons of hydrogenous materials was appreciated.The gross properties of the (n, y ) reaction were mapped out by these early workers using low-yield (a, n) sources and simple Geiger-Mueller detectors. Approximate energies, multiplicities, and intensities were established by the crude absorption techniques then available. These early experiments, combined with the discovery of fission in 1938, have profoundly influenced our lives, with an impact unique in the annals of science and technology. Today, the most important applications of nuclear physics still lie in the domain of neutron interactions, which are of paramount importance in fission and fusion reactor technology and in weapons applications.The subject of this paper, however, deals primarily with the use of neutrons as a tool in eliciting fundamental information on nuclear properties, and only secondarily with applications. As such a tool, neutron reactions have certain special properties that are not available in other reactions. Furthermore, the methods currently available for gamma-ray spectral studies applied to neutron-capture radiation have a precision and accuracy unmatched by other techniques.
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