Substance identification using neutron transmission

Thomas Gill Miller; Ronald A. Krauss

doi:10.1117/12.219593

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15 September 1995 Substance identification using neutron transmission

Thomas Gill Miller; Ronald A. Krauss

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Proceedings Volume 2511, Law Enforcement Technologies: Identification Technologies and Traffic Safety; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.219593
Event: European Symposium on Optics for Environmental and Public Safety, 1995, Munich, Germany

Abstract

A neutron transmission spectrometer has been used to obtain the neutron attenuation signature of a number of substances, including contraband such as drugs and explosives. The neutron attenuations of these substances were determined for the substances alone and when imbedded in suitcases. A pulsed white neutron source was created by bombarding a thick beryllium target with a 5 MeV pulsed deuteron beam. The neutron intensity was measured from about 0.75 MeV to about 4 MeV with the samples in and out of the neutron beam to determine the neutron attenuation. The experimentally determined neutron attenuation curves were used to determine the number of densities of H, C, N, and O throught the samples using measured neutron cross sections. Explosives, drugs, and plastics each fall into different portions of the 3D space formed by certain ratios of H, C, N, and O. The results are presented in 3D representations.

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Thomas Gill Miller and Ronald A. Krauss "Substance identification using neutron transmission", Proc. SPIE 2511, Law Enforcement Technologies: Identification Technologies and Traffic Safety, (15 September 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.219593

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