Multiple Scattering of Neutrons in Vanadium and Copper

Abstract

The intensity of multiply scattered neutrons from cylindrical specimens of incoherent iisotropic scatterers has been calculated and compared with experimental values. The scattering is considered in terms of the number of scattering events, and the intensity is expressed in terms of the parameters $\ensuremath{\mu}R$, $\frac{R}{h}$, and $\frac{{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{s}}{{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{t}}$, where $\ensuremath{\mu}$ is the absorption coefficient, $R$ is the radius, $h$ is the height of the cylinder, ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{s}$ is the scattering cross sections, and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{t}$ is the total cross section. Intensities were measured as a function of $\frac{R}{h}$ for vanadium, which scatters almost entirely incoherently, and for copper, which has strong coherent reflections. The data for vanadium and copper are in good agreement with the calculations.