A MASS SPECTROMETER INVESTIGATION OF THE ISOTOPES OF XENON AND KRYPTON RESULTING FROM THE FISSION OF U235 BY THERMAL NEUTRONS

Abstract

Mass spectrometer investigations have been made of rare gas fission products extracted from uranium irradiated with thermal neutrons. The irradiated uranium rods were allowed to stand for various periods of time after irradiation to permit the decay of most fission product chains to stable isotopes. Four stable isotopes of xenon were found having mass numbers 131, 132, 134, and 136, and three stable isotopes of krypton with mass numbers 83, 84, and 86. Kr86, the most abundant of the latter group, is probably formed directly in fission. In addition a long lived krypton with mass 85 was discovered which is isomeric with a 4.0 hr. Kr85 reported previously.The relative abundances of these isotopes which are related directly to fission yields of the corresponding mass chains have been determined with an accuracy of 1% or better. The mass numbers of these fission chains can now be identified with certainty by comparing mass spectrometer abundance data with known yield values of the active chain members. Finally, the half-life of krypton 85 was determined by comparing its concentration to that of a stable isotope over a period of time.