A CALORIMETRIC DETERMINATION OF THE HALF-LIFE OF THORIUM-230 AND A CONSEQUENT REVISION TO ITS NEUTRON CAPTURE CROSS SECTION

Abstract

The half-life of Th 230 (ionium) has been measured by a calorimetric method and was found to be 75,200 years with a standard error of ± 1,600 years.In the light of this measurement, previously published values for the 2200 m/sec neutron capture cross section and the resonance capture integral (from 0.5 ev to ∞) of Th 230 have been amended to 22.7 ± 0.6 barns and 996 ± 40 barns respectively.