Abstract
SOME time ago, experiments were made, in collaboration with Dr. L. H. Gray, in which the scattering of neutrons by various materials was detected, with the aid of a high-pressure ionisation chamber containing nitrogen1. The results were on the whole compatible with the view that the observed ionisation was due to neutrons scattered in all directions by elastic collisions with nuclei, and various experimenters have confirmed this2. Measurements made with paraffin wax and liquid hydrogen (the latter kindly provided by Dr. P. Kapitza) showed, however, the surprising result that radiation was freely emitted at angles of 120°–180° to the direction of the incident neutrons. It is clearly impossible for neutrons to be scattered at angles greater than a right angle by single elastic collisions with protons, and calculation shows that multiple scattering cannot explain the observed effects.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chadwick, Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 136, 704 ; 1932.
de Broglie, C. R., 194, 1616 ; 1932. Dunning and Pegram, Phys. Rev., 43, 497 ; 1933.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LEA, D. Combination of Proton and Neutron. Nature 133, 24 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133024a0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133024a0
This article is cited by
-
Errors, PGAA, and metrology
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (2009)
-
Prompt nuclear analysis
Journal of Radioanalytical Chemistry (1981)
