
60 Nuclear Forensic Analysis
In this reaction [an (α,n) reaction], the α particle and the Be nucleus fuse, resulting in
a
13
C nucleus with sufcient excitation energy that it emits a neutron to deexcite. In
1
934,
J
oliot
a
nd
C
urie
o
bserved
β
+
radioactivities in the irradiation of light elements
w
ith
α
p
articles
f
rom
a
210
Po source [56]. This rst production of articial radioactiv-
ity
w
as
t
he
b
eginning
o
f
t
he
s
cience
o
f
n
uclear
c
hemistry
a
nd
w
as
f
ollowed
r
apidly
b
y the development of particle accelerators.
In
m
any
w
ays,
n
uclear
r
eactions
ca
n
b
e
c
onsidered
s
imilar
t
o
c
hemical
r
eactions,
w
ith
s
ome
d
ifferences:
rst,
i
n
c
hemical
r
eactions,
t
he
e