8 Neutron interactions
Neutrons will pass through electron cloud and react directly with the nucleus.
Sometimes the compound nucleus is left in an excited state, before the reaction proceeds, but this can be a very short time.
[latex]^1_0n + ^{238}_{92}U \rightarrow ^{239}_{92}U^* \rightarrow \ldots[/latex]
The compound nucleus stage is not typically written as part of the reaction equation.
Neutron interactions
- Elastic scattering
- Inelastic scattering
- Radiative capture/neutron absorption
- Charged-particle reactions
- Neutron producing reactions
Elastic scattering
With elastic scattering, energy and momentum are conserved.
[latex]E^{'}=\frac{E_n}{(A+1)^2} \cdot [cos \theta \sqrt{A^2-sin^2 \theta}]^2[/latex]
Students again should be able to derive this equation.
Additional notes