Cumulative Yields from the 14-MeV Neutron Fission of 238U

Abstract

Isotopic abundances of the elements xenon, krypton, and cesium formed in the 14-Mev neutron fission of 238U have been measured using the mass-spectrometric method. The relative yields of some isotopes of krypton, strontium, zirconium, molybdenum, ruthenium, iodine, xenon, barium, cerium and neodymium were measured using a Ge(Li) detector. The ratios were normalized through isobaric nuclides, and absolute yields were obtained by normalizing the sum of the heavy-mass yields to 100%. A semi-empirical method has been developed for constructing neutron yield curves. Such a curve was used to obtain a primary-yield curve from the cumulative yields reported here. The results indicate that considerable structure might exist in the primary-yield curve at the higher excitation energy.