
Neutron Activation Analysis
(NAA)*
14
In
neutron
activation
analysis
(NAA), samples are placed in a
neutron
field typi-
cally
available in a research nuclear reactor. Following
neutron
capture, trace im-
purities present in the sample become radioactive. Samples are removed from the
reactor and analyzed using γ-ray spectroscopy. Gamma
rays
or high-energy
photons
(~1 MeV) are given off as a result of the radioactive decay process. The spectrom-
eter measures the energies of the γ
rays
and "counts" the number of γ
rays
of each
energy
emitted from the sample. Each radioisotope of an impurity emits a signa-
ture, or characteristic, γ
ray.
Therefore ...