Triple tracks in CR-39 as the result of Pd–D Co-deposition: evidence of energetic neutrons
Thor
energetic neutrons
Journal Naturwissenschaften
Issue Volume 96, Number 1 / January, 2009
Triple tracks in CR-39 as the result of Pd嚙瘩 Co-deposition: evidence of
energetic neutrons
Pamela A. Mosier-Boss1 , Stanislaw Szpak1, Frank E. Gordon1 and Lawrence P.
G. Forsley2
(1) SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, Code 7173, San Diego, CA 92152, USA
(2) JWK International Corp., Annandale, VA 22003, USA
Received: 30 July 2008 Revised: 3 September 2008 Accepted: 14 September
2008 Published online: 1 October 2008
Abstract
Since the announcement by Fleischmann and Pons that the excess enthalpy
generated in the negatively polarized Pd嚙瘩-D2O system was attributable to
nuclear reactions occurring inside the Pd lattice, there have been reports
of other manifestations of nuclear activities in this system. In particular,
there have been reports of tritium and helium-4 production; emission of
energetic particles, gamma or X-rays, and neutrons; as well as the
transmutation of elements. In this communication, the results of Pd嚙瘩
co-deposition experiments conducted with the cathode in close contact with
CR-39, a solid-state nuclear etch detector, are reported. Among the solitary
tracks due to individual energetic particles, triple tracks are observed.
Microscopic examination of the bottom of the triple track pit shows that the
three lobes of the track are splitting apart from a center point. The
presence of three a-particle tracks outgoing from a single point is
diagnostic of the 12C(n,n')3a carbon breakup reaction and suggests that DT
reactions that produce =9.6 MeV neutrons are occurring inside the Pd
lattice. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the production of
energetic (=9.6 MeV) neutrons in the Pd嚙瘩 system.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0449-x) contains supplementary material, which is
available to authorized users.
Keywords CR-39 - Palladium - Neutrons