Use of active scintillating targets in nuclear physics experiments - Measurement of spontaneous fission

Abstract

A novel detector has been used, in order to perform measurements of spontaneous fission to α-decay ratios for 240Pu, 242Pu and 252Cf isotopes. The detectors are based on the well-known technique of liquid scintillating counting. The principle and advantages of the use of such detectors in nuclear physics is discussed. The application to the characterization of spontaneous fission is described and it is demonstrated that highly precise measurements are possible, and that the main limit is due to the isotopic content knowledge of the measured samples.