neutronisäteilijä

A neutron emitter is a device that produces neutrons. Neutrons are subatomic particles with no net electric charge. They are fundamental constituents of atomic nuclei and play a crucial role in nuclear physics and various applications.

Neutron emitters can be categorized into several types based on their method of neutron production. One common method involves the use of radioactive isotopes that undergo spontaneous fission or neutron decay. For example, Californium-252 is a highly energetic neutron emitter used in a variety of applications, including well logging in the oil and gas industry and as a neutron source for nuclear reactors. Another method utilizes nuclear reactions. This often involves bombarding a target material with charged particles, such as protons or alpha particles, which then induce a nuclear reaction that releases neutrons. A classic example is the deuterium-deuterium (D-D) reaction, where two deuterium nuclei fuse to form helium-3 and a neutron, or the deuterium-tritium (D-T) reaction, which produces helium-4 and a higher energy neutron. Accelerators are typically used to generate the charged particle beams for these reactions.

Neutrons emitted from these sources have a range of energies, from very low (cold neutrons) to very high (fast neutrons), depending on the production mechanism. The properties of neutrons, such as their mass and lack of charge, make them useful for probing matter. They can penetrate deeply into materials and interact with atomic nuclei without the electrostatic repulsion that affects charged particles. This makes neutron emitters valuable tools in research, industry, and medicine. Applications include neutron scattering for materials science, neutron radiography for imaging, cancer therapy (neutron therapy), and neutron activation analysis for elemental detection.