DOCOIMW IES 60 AUTHOR Duggan, Jerome L.; An Ethers TITLE Advanced Experimilmts Nuclear Science, Advanced Nuclear 'Physics and Chemistry Experiments. SPONS,AGENCY National Science Foundation,Washington, L.C., North Texas State Univ., Denton. BUREAU NO NSF-SED-74-20286 PUB. DATE 17 ?) NOTE 258p.; Contains Occasicna and broken type ROES PRICE HP-$0..8;5 Plus Postage. HC, Not Available fxo ED VESCRIPTIS Chemistry; College Science; *Giadmate StaCy; H Education; Instructional Haterials; Laboratory Procedures; *NclearEhysics; Physics; Science Education; *Science Fxpeciaerts ABSTRACT The experiments in this anualrepresent state-of-the-art techniques which should Le within thebudgetary_ constraints Of a college 'physics or chewistry department. There are fourteen experiments divided into five modules. The modules are on X-ray fluorescence, charged particle detection, neutron activation analysis, X-ray attenuation, and accelerator experiments.' Each module contains an introduction, a guide to the types cf experiments contained, learning objectivcs,and a list of- prerequisite skills. Each experiment contains objectives, ar introduction, a'list of equipment, .data accumulation and analysis procedures, discussion of results; post-test questions, computer programs, o'ticnal work, and references. (Author/BB) ****** ***, **** ** *** ** ** * ****** * Re prod upplied by EDES are the best thatCEEto made from the original document. * * * * ***** *** * * * * * * * * *a * * * * * * * * * ** * * * -* Advaticed EiperimentsIii Nuclear Science T Vokorne I Advanced Nuclear:Physics And Chemistry Experiments oronr L. Duggan, Floyd D. McDaniel, and Jack G. itehn This Projett IS:Supported Jointly By The Nation4 Science Foundation And 1+ rtl Tias State University Denton, Texas 76203 INTRODUcTiO1 Many colleges and'universities throughout the-United Stateshave recognized the iMpo- nee of the study of nuclear science-and# radio- isotopes in the undqrgraduate curriculum. The reasons for this reali- . nation are twofold: First, tomorrow's citizen is without to live in a woFld hat is much more dependent ,on-nuclear' energy and technology thah most.ofus realize at this time.Many us think that the only practical and economical solution to the energy crisis is through nuclear energy at least until wellafter the year 2000. The ultimate energy needs-of the United States willmost likely be provided by a combination of numerous types f'energy sources: nuclear fission and fusion, breeder reactors, solar and geotherMal. energy, as well as fossil fuels. A second reason for studying radioisotopes lies in their applica- tion to certain analytical problems in chemistry, physics,biology, medicine and environmental science. As an exam ale, neutron activation analysis is for many elements one of the-:Ost sensitive analytical techniques known. With the proper selection ofpre and post chemical preparation techniques, sensitivities of the order ofone nanogram may be obtained by this technique for many elements. X -ray fluorescence is another good example of a strong quantitative and qualitative technique that has recently been employed quite extensively for trace element analysis of environmental, geological, and biologicalsamples. These techniques have been applied quite successfully not onlyto.the areas of physics and che istiy but alge-,to the areas of biology, geolOgy, environmental science -,and medicine. It is clear that today's science student needs a worki.plq-k ledge of these "state of the art" tech- niques. This is the first of a series of manuals to be publishedin the. areas of physics and che try, biology, geology, and environmental science. The experiments tht are included in this Manualfor the most, part reresent "state of the art" techniques whichshould be Within.: the'budgetary d6nstraints oa single physics or chemistry_departme0t, --Far smaller colleges orUT1 tis-= it may perhaps be 'advantagebu" for a consortium of departments.tia share equipmentcosts. The expe- meats presentedn the manual would probably betermed advanced; however many of these experiments have been performed successfullyby under-- graduates at various institutions inaugurating thistext. A :umber%of other fine texts and laboratory manuals have beenwritten- on what might. be termed basic radiation,measurements. For your convenience,we have listed a number of th se r the general bibliography, AppendixVIII. Thelaboratory manual containsa collectionof five module._-, each of which consists of one or more relatedor similar experiments. The Jmodular approach allows one to present theoreticalor introductory material in much greater detail fora collection of related experiments. In general, each module will containa one or two page introduction concerning the usefulness of the experimentsand techniques to be studied and a guide to the different types ofexperiments to be encountered in the module; broad learning objectives of themodule; and,a prerequisites section which will contain a list of thosenecessary skills which every student should have before attempting theexperiments in the module. -The necessary prerequisites are given in theform of pretest questions .with answers to be fodnd in the back ofthe module. Each module also contains 'a theoretical section whichpresents broad discussions of topics which are common to all of-theexperiments in the module. Following this introductory materialare :,number of similar experiments. iii .EaCh-experiment c h ains,specific objectives,an introdUCtion, list of necessary. a d optional equipMent,experimental data acpaulatl n :and analysis pro&dures, discussionof results, post-test questions evaluate the students comprehension,computer programs availablt, optional work which may be doneas an extension o:f the -periment'; and additional references which may beused by-'the student t 'cievelOp the .experiment into a senior search project. Following the collection of related expeill;en_sare the solutions to the pre-test and post-test'questions for all-of the.exper 41, h';ents. 'One should not necessarily expecta student to perform all of the ex erimen,ts in a particular module but ratherto do those experiments consistent with the goals of the institution'sadvanced laboratory course and the equipment available. The experiments are generally designed for a. 3-4.hour laboratory periodfor student groups of' 2 or 3.. For Some experiments, more thanone laboratory period may be required. The authors wish to acknowledge thevaluable assistance received from the many consultants that havemade this project possible. We also wish to tank the fiftyor so reviewers of the earlier version of this manual-for their valuable timeand effort in evaluating these experiments: While we have at emptedtocorrect all errors in typing and procedures, some, invariably willoccur. We assume complet respons bility for any and all sucherrors and hope that fAure readerof this manual will inform us of them. Jerome Duggan loud McDaniel Jack G. Henn TABLE OF CONTENT- Page No Introduction MODULE ONE: X-RAY FLUORESCENCE. 1 Expekiment 1: Basic Source Excited X-Ray Fluoilescence With a Lithium Drifted Silicon Detector. Experiment 2: X-Ray Fluorescence With a Lithium Drifted Ge'manium Detector (Source Excited)=. 27 Experiment 3: X-Ray Fluorescence Using a Gas,Filled Proportional Counter 39 Experiment SourCkExcited X-Ray Fluorescenceas Applied to Environmental and Geochemical Samples (Si(Li)- detector)-- 51r Experiment :5: Heavy\ Element Analysis of Pollution Samples by X-Ray Fluorescence- witha Gel(Li) Detector 69 I Experiment 6: Tube xcited X-Ray Fluorescence= 77 MODULE TWO: CHARGED PARTICLE DETECTION 95 Expprimen_ 1: The-Use of Solid State Charged Particle Detectors, for Alpha Particle Studies . .101 Experiment 2: The Study of K and L Shell Binding Energies .... .114 ',Experiment An AlphaParticle Time-of-Flight Experiment .122 MODULE THREE: NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS . .137 Experiment 1: The Study of Thermal Neutrons by Activation Techniques . 141 Experiment 2: The Study of Fast Neutron Activation Techniques 144 Experiment 3: Identification of 4n known by Neutron Activation Analysis 156 MODULE FOUR: X-RAY ATTENUATION 167 MODULE FIVE: ACCELERATOR EXPERIMENTt 181 Experiment 1: Thin Film measurements by Elastic Ion Beam Scattering With a Low Voltage Accelerator 183 Experiment 2: X-Ray Production Studies With a ginall Accelerator 198 . ., .. .-, . --. , .217 Appendix Listings A -4- I Regulations Concerning Safe Radioisotope Use acid a Nonexhaustive Radioisotope Vendor File . .218 II Programs Developed for reducing Data in this _ Manual = III Reac,por and Accelerator Facility Shari4n4 Program . 431' IV Absolute Disintegration Rates for Some of the Most Commonly Used X-Ray and Gamma Ray'Calibration Sources . , V Nucleonics Data Sheet. .. ....241 VI Relative Sensitivities of Elements to Neutron Activation (Thermal) .. ... .243 s VII Major Gamma RayObserved in Neutron Activation . .247 Analysis . .. VIII General References . ,250 Government Programs that are Designed to Help Colleges and Universities with the Funding of Educational Scientific Equipment 4 4 4 4 4 .251 X eriodic Table of-the Elements , (Sargent-Welch Scientific Company) .253 - MODULE ONE Y FLUORESCENCE A Module on Photon-Excit9d X-Ray Fluarescende INTRODUCTION * Tay fluorescence is a ve y powerful analytical technique which s used for the detection of trace impurities. Basically, the method involves bombardinga sample with photons from a radio- active source or other sources of photons while observingthe characteristic X rays from the sale.The