Use of the absolute method in neutron activation analysis: application to National Bureau of Standards coal and spinach

Abstract

Absolute neutron activation analysis, which consists of gamma-ray counting and direct calculation of weights from nuclear constants, was applied to two National Bureau of Standards materials: coal (SRM 1632a) and spinach (SRM 1570). Al, As, Br, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Ga, K, La, Mg, Na, Sb, Sc, Sr, Ti, V, W, and Zn were instrumentally determined in these samples with accuracy ranging from −18 to +21% among elements for which reference values were available.