Livermore Scientists Develop Method to Analyze Nuclear Material
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new mathematical method to evaluate nuclear material by analyzing fission chains, the lab announced late last month. Mathematical tools help reveal the “mass and geometric properties” of unknown material by exploiting the neutron and gamma ray bursts emitted by special nuclear materials, the lab said. While earlier methods “have treated the fission chains as integral bursts,” the new detection systems “can count neutrons and gamma-rays on the nanosecond time scale,” a capability that “can isolate individual fission events within a fission chain and requires a new theory to fully exploit and interpret this data,” according to project leader Les Nakae. A code derived from this theory, which offers probabilities for fission chain signatures, then allows the team “to rapidly generate characteristics of [special nuclear material] sources,” LLNL said. The research, supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation and counterterrorism offices, allows researchers “to detect, analyze and assess unknown objects containing fissionable material in a wide range of applications, from safeguards and border security, to arms control and counterterrorism,” the lab said.
