Re: switchable neutron sources

[Ted de Castro <tdc@xrayted.com>]

SrBe comes to mind - LOTS of very hard gammas however!!

Cook the Sr with a neutron source and then slip it into a Be sleeve.

I suppose you could use RaBe too.

vylet001@mc.duke.edu wrote:
> 
> Dear radsafers,
> 
> I would appreciate any information on "switchable" neutron
> sources (availability, references, etc). Such a source would
> be a special version of the usual Am-Be, Ra-Be, Pu-B, ...
> setup, in which the alpha emitter and Be (or B) are not mixed,
> but separated, so that the source can be switched on and off
> by simply varying the distance of the two components.
> 
> I assume that such sources would have relatively low
> emission rates, due to the inefficiencies in geometry.
> However, they would be very useful in applications where
> portability is a major constraint, since it would eliminate
> the need for neutron shielding.
> 
> It was suggested to me that these sources were built somewhere,
> perhaps at one of the national labs.
> Thank you in advance for any hints and pointers.
> 
> Vashek Vylet
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> Vaclav "Vashek" Vylet, Ph.D.            Phone: 919-684-2194
> OESO/DUMC Box 3155                        Fax: 919-684-2422
> Duke University                         pager: 919-970-1224
> Durham, NC 27710, USA         e-mail: vashek.vylet@duke.edu
> 
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