Abstract
BY using pure metallic boron, we have recently confirmed the emission of gamma rays from this element in the presence of slow neutrons. By comparing the intensity of gamma rays with that of those emitted from cadmium, and assuming that every absorption process of a slow neutron by a cadmium atom is accompanied by the emission of a gamma ray quantum, we were able to estimate the cross-section of the boron atom for the emission of gamma rays to be about one twentieth of the total absorption cross-section. On account of their low intensity, we have not yet been able to determine their quantum energy. These gamma rays may either be accompanying the well-known disintegration process found by Chadwiek and Goldhaber, and Fermi and his collaborators, or they may be emitted by the capture process by B10 to form B11. The capture process by B11 is excluded, for B12 is radioactive1, decaying with a period shorter than a second and emitting very fast beta rays, which were not observed in our case.
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References
H. R. Crane, L. A. Delsasso, W. A. Fowler and C. C. Lauritsen, Phys. Rev., 47, 887 (1935).
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KIKUCHI, S., AOKI, H. & HUSIMI, K. Excitation oi Gamma Rays in Boron. Nature 137, 745 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137745a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137745a0
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