Results of H³ bombardment of Ag leading to Pd¹⁰⁹

Abstract

H³ has been used as the bombarding particle to effect nuclear reactions. H³ was produced by (d, H³) reaction in Be and Ag and immediately utilized as are neutrons in a fast neutron bombardment. The energy of the H³ particles was about 10 Mev. The target was a stack of Ag foils in front of which different thicknesses of Be were placed and a 10-Mev deuteron beam was made to impinge on the Be. The H³ generated within Be, produced the 13-hour Pd¹⁰⁹ activity in Ag foils as confirmed by chemistry. The reaction is believed to be Ag¹⁰⁹ (H³, He³) Pd¹⁰⁹. Spurious (n, p) reaction was estimated and corrected for. The observed range of H³ in different materials is discussed. The threshold for the H³ reaction in Ag is roughly estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.5 Mev.