Neutron radiation, composed of neutral subatomic particles found in nuclear reactors and bombs, is a health risk and the fourth major type of radiation. Discovered in the 1930s, it played a crucial role in the first nuclear reactor and bomb. Neutron radiation tends to be absorbed by nuclei, making it radioactive and dangerous to humans. The neutron bomb is a weapon that releases large amounts of neutron radiation, killing living beings but leaving structures intact.
Neutron radiation is a form of ionizing radiation most often found in nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs. It is composed of neutrons, neutral subatomic particles that make up the nucleus of atoms together with protons. Neutrons are found in all elementary nuclei except hydrogen. Neutron radiation is a health risk and is considered the fourth major type of radiation after alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays.
Neutron radiation and the neutron itself were discovered in the early 1930s through experiments conducted by James Chadwick, Walter Bothe, Herbert Becker and others. The radiation was released by bombarding the metallic beryllium with alpha particles. Chadwick’s painstaking work in proving the existence of the neutron earned him the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The most famous role of neutron radiation in world history dates back to 1942, when the world’s first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, was built under the University of Chicago stadium. Scientists had theorized that the energy would be released by bombarding unstable uranium nuclei with neutrons. Furthermore, by breaking up (fissioning) these uranium nuclei, a self-sustaining chain reaction could be started. The ultimate form of this is in a nuclear bomb, where an extremely rapid sequence of nuclear reactions causes the release of a significant amount of nuclear energy in an enriched uranium core, enough to blow up entire cities. Prior to the early 1940s, few scientists, let alone the general public, could have imagined such a powerful explosive or energy source.
Neutron radiation tends to be absorbed by the nuclei of its target material, making it radioactive. Most of the radioactive material produced during a nuclear bomb explosion is created this way. When humans are exposed to too much neutron radiation, it can actually make flesh radioactive, quickly killing the unfortunate person. This is the principle behind the neutron bomb, a weapon designed to release huge amounts of neutron radiation with relatively little heat or light. The neutron bomb is a nuclear explosive that kills people and animals but leaves structures intact.
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