The ‘thick-film chamber’ method for the measurement of fast neutron flux

Several methods have been developed in recent years in the Cavendish Laboratory for the absolute measurement of fast neutron flux. All depend on observing the effects of elastic collisions between neutrons and light nuclei. The methods fall into two categories according as individual recoil nuclei are counted (1, 2), or the total ionization current due to the recoils is measured (3). In order completely to interpret the experimental results, it is necessary to know the cross-section for scattering and the angular distribution of the recoil nuclei. The total number of recoil nuclei and their energy distribution are then determined for a known incident neutron spectrum. For precise neutron flux measurements, recoil protons are invariably studied, as the neutron-proton scattering cross-section has been measured over a wide range of energies (4, 5), and the angular distribution of the recoils is isotropic in the centre of gravity space for neutrons of energy less than about 10 MeV. (6, 7). This makes the reduction of the experimental results particularly simple and certain.