Nuclear checks, the neutrino way

• Autores: Jacob Aron
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3042, 2015, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • For the past year, researchers in France have used one detector, dubbed Nucifer, to monitor a small reactor next door. Nucifer is full of a liquid scintillator that flashes on the rare occasions when a neutrino interacts with it. The rate at which this happens reveals the activity level inside the reactor. Despite the presence of other energetic particles, the team was able to create shielding for Nucifer and get useful readings. Over the course of 145 days, the team could detect when the reactor was running, and track the amount of plutonium-239 inside. This isotope is especially useful for producing nuclear weapons, so any sudden change in its level suggests armaments may be the reactor's actual purpose