https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2014-14236-6
Regular Article
Why new neutron detector materials must replace helium-3
1
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
2
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
* e-mail: ajhurd@lanl.gov
Received:
29
July
2014
Revised:
15
September
2014
Accepted:
21
September
2014
Published online:
27
October
2014
Helium-3 has such unique physical and nuclear properties that to a physicist it seems appalling the isotope was once indiscriminately released to the atmosphere as a waste gas. Not gravitationally bound to our planet, a He-3 atom is effectively lost to the human race once released. Consequently, when a confluence of independent factors in national security and research in the last decade created a “custody battle” over this scarce isotope, an intense search for substitutes and alternative technologies ensued for various applications. This Focus Point of EPJ Plus is dedicated to neutron detector alternatives.
© Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2014
