INTRODUCTION 4
WHAT IS NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS? 5
THE SENSITIVITY OF NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS 10
HOW AND WHERE TO USE IT 19
In a Physics Laboratory 19
In a Hospital 28
In a Plastics Plant 32
In a Museum 35
In a Criminology Laboratory 42
SUMMING UP: WHAT LIES AHEAD 46
APPENDIX 49
READING LIST 52
MOTION PICTURES 54
U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20545
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-182556
1972
[Illustration: Photograph, spiral galaxy]
The U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration publishes a
series of booklets for the general public.
Please write to the following address for a title list or for
information on a specific subject:
USERDA—Technical Information Center
P. O. Box 62
Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
[Illustration: Photograph: shelf with china]
A 19th century photograph restored by neutron activation. This
picture, which is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution,
was exposed to neutrons in a nuclear reactor and then placed in
contact with modern photographic film. The original, which had been
taken by William Henry Fox Talbot who began his career in 1834, is
badly faded.