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A portable shield for a neutron howitzer used for instructional and research purposes
S Ali1, M Laherty2, J W Laprade1
1San Francisco State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco, CA 94132, United States.
Abstract:
Neutron howitzers are routinely used in universities to activate samples for instructional laboratory experiments on radioactivity. They are also a convenient source of neutrons and gammas for research purposes, but they must be used with caution. This paper describes the modeling, design, construction, and testing of a portable, economical shield for a 1.0 Curie neutron howitzer. The Monte Carlo N Particle Transport Code (MCNP5) has been used to model the (239)PuBe source and the howitzer and to design the external neutron and gamma shield.
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