--- Keith Nagel wrote: > Can you calibrate the neutron detector? It's > important to > set some kind of limits for the ( so far it seems ) > null results. Perhaps someone can loan you a cup > of neutrons to test with....
Rather than null, I would say incomplete. Let's take the contrarian (and optimistic viewpoint) that there have been some neutrons but they are extremely low energy "stirpping" neutrons. There is no way they are going to get out of that much heavy water, but with the approx 15 min decay time, they can still be found long after the cell is shut off. This has the distinct triple advantage of allowing a detector to be placed in the cell itself, plus it eliminates almost all other possibilities, plus since it is now beta decay (albeit low energy) and it allows much more flexibility in the kind of detector, plastic scintillator or film, even a photography light meter could be rigged up. The traditional CD geiger counter won't work however. > BTW, is Bounty even _rated_ for heavy water spills? I have it on good authority that Rosie says the quicker-picker-upper can sop up any yellow liquid in 30 seconds; so if it is resisting, you know what to do... Jones