We describe a source capable of producing single barium ions through nuclear recoils in radioactive decay. The source is fabricated by electroplating (148)Gd onto a silicon α-particle detector and vapor depositing a layer of BaF(2) over it. (144)Sm recoils from the alpha decay of (148)Gd are used to dislodge Ba(+) ions from the BaF(2) layer and emit them in the surrounding environment. The simu...

Radiation therapy for cancer patients works by ionizing damage to nuclear DNA, primarily by creating double-strand breaks (DSB). A major shortcoming of traditional radiation therapy is the set of side effect associated with its long-range interaction with nearby tissues. Low-energy Auger electrons have the advantage of an extremely short effective range, minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Con...

abstract  background: the essential constituents of cements like lime, silica and alumina are derived from earth’s crust in which radioactive elements like uranium, thorium etc are also present in varying amounts almost everywhere. these two elements are considered as the parent elements of uranium and thorium radioactive decay series in which radon and thoron are produced respectively as decay...

The transport of Rn through sealed, horizontal 2.54 cm diameter tubes filled with still water was observed to be significantly greater than that predicted solely from molecular diffusion. The rate of Rn transport was also found to be related to the concentration of Rn in the water. A constant source of radon producing an air concentration ranging from 1.1 to 176 Bq cm was connected to one end o...

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas produced from the decay of uranium in the earth’s crust. Its presence is ubiquitous at the earth’s surface even though its production, and consequently its concentration, are not uniform. Radon can infiltrate into buildings basically through cracks and other routes of entry in the basement. Also, since it is heavier than air, it tends to concentrat...

The rationale is disclosed for a substructure within the Earth's inner core, consisting of an actinide subcore at the center of the Earth, surrounded by a subshell composed of the products of nuclear fission and radioactive decay. Estimates are made as to possible densities, physical dimensions, and chemical compositions. The feasibility for self-sustaining nuclear fission within the subcore is...

Time-dependent sensitivity techniques, which have been used in the past for standard reactor applications, have been adapted to calculate the impact of data uncertainties in radiotoxicity evaluations. The methodology has been applied to different strategies of radioactive waste management connected with the EFR and IFR reactor fuel cycles. Results are provided in terms of sensitivity coefficien...

We describe an algorithm for animating time-dependent quantum wave functions in one dimension with very high accuracy. The algorithm employs the Crank–Nicholson approximation for the time dependence along with a Numerov extension of the discrete transparent boundary conditions described recently by Ehrhardt. We illustrate the power of this approach by simulating the decay of alpha particles fro...