Cf-252 FTC-CFZ-431
Overview
An official document for the CF-252 source with serial number FTC-CFZ-431 provides a value for the neutron rate and CF-252 mass as of 03/19/1993.
The initial neutron rate and mass of cf-252 are stated to be
and 4.2 , respectively.4.2
would generate neutrons per second. The discrepancy between these two numbers gives a 2% error.initial source composition
CF252 used in the US is produced in batches at Oak Ridge National Laboratory which all have similar isotopic make up. I found the isotopic composition of a batch produced in 1991, two years before the production date of our source<ref> http://permalink.lanl.gov/object/tr?what=info:lanl-repo/lareport/LA-UR-12-22883 </ref>. Assuming our source has the same isotopic composition as the 1991 batch and a total mass of 4.2 g, the values in the following table can be calculated.
Table of rates
Click here to open a table giving neutron rates and C-252 activity from dates 1/2017 to 12/2029. This calculation only includes neutrons from Cf-252, since all other daughter nuclei and possible impurities have a very low SF rate compared to Cf-252.
Formulas
Formula used for neutron rate [
]:
and for Cf-252 activity [
]:
References
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