Abstract
As first observed by Roberts, Meyer and Wang1, the fission of uranium is followed by an emission of neutrons with a delay of about 12 seconds. As this period corresponds roughly to a β-ray period of about 10 seconds previously found by Meitner, Hahn and Strassmann2 in their study of the uranium neutron reactions, it was suggested that the neutron emission is directly connected with the process of β-ray emission. Further experiments3 confirmed this conclusion and led to an estimate for the cross-section for the production of such delayed neutrons of about 4 × 10-26 cm2. The subsequent work of Booth, Dunning and Slack4 established the existence of an additional period of about 45 seconds, which could also be brought into connexion with a known β-ray period of the uranium products.
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References
Roberts, R. B., Meyer, R. C., and Wang, P., Phys. Rev., 55, 510 (1939).
Meitner, L., Hahn, O., and Strassmann, F., Z. Phys., 106, 249 (1937).
Roberts, R. B., Hafstad, L. R., Meyer, R. C., and Wang, P., Phys. Rev., 55, 664 (1939).
Booth, E. T., Dunning, J. R., and Slack, F. G., Phys. Rev., 55, 876 (1939).
Bohr, N., and Wheeler, J. H., Phys. Rev., 56, 426 (1939).
Barschall, H. H., Harris, W. T., Kanner, M. H., and Turner, L. H., Phys. Rev., 55, 939 (1939).
Gibbs, D. F., and Thomson, G. P., NATURE, 144, 202 (1939).
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BOSTRØM, K., KOCH, J. & LAURITSEN, T. Delayed Neutron Emission accompanying Uranium Fission. Nature 144, 830–831 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144830a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144830a0
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