Abstract and subjects
An experiment has been performed to determine the thermal neutron absorption cross section in Lucite using Fermi-Age theory. The measurement is based on previous measurements that Enrico Fermi did in the 1930s and 1940s to investigate the neutron absorption properties of various materials and whose results are documented in Refs. 1 and 2. This method classifies the slowing down of fast neutrons in a moderating material as a two step process. In the first step, the fast neutrons collide with the nuclei of the moderating material, losing energy until they reach thermal energy (0.025 eV). The second diffusion process is defined as when the thermal neutrons continue to diffuse through the moderating material without further loss of energy until they are finally absorbed. Note that this method does not take into account the chemical bonds of the lucite molecule.