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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

A Novel Technique for Raman Analysis of Highly Radioactive Samples Using Any Standard Micro-Raman Spectrometer
Published on: April 12, 2017
Atmospheric radioactive isotopes at orbital altitudes
1Chemistry Department, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, 35899, USA.
Abstract:
The radioactive isotope 7Be was discovered on the forward-facing side of the LDEF satellite in amounts far exceeding that expected from direct cosmic ray activation of the spacecraft material. This prompted an examination of the production of cosmogenic isotopes in the atmosphere and of the processes by which they may be transported to orbital altitudes and adsorbed by a spacecraft. 7Be is only one of several atmospheric cosmogenic isotopes that might be detectable at orbital altitudes and that might prove to be as useful as tracers of atmospheric circulation processes in the mesosphere and thermosphere as they have been in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
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