No . 361 5. FEn. 11 , HX~9 ~AT U H.

E ~39

Le tt ers to th e Editor
Th e E ditor docs not hold himself responsible for op in ions expressed by his corresp ondents .
.'I c cannot w ulertal.:e to ret urn. or to correspo1ulwit/~ the writers of, . rejected manU$cripts
intended for this 01' ar•y other part of NATtmE . Xo notice is tal.:en of anonymous communication.$,
~OTES ON POI:t-.'TS IN SO:IIE O F THIS WEEE:'S L E TTE R S AP PEAR OX P. 247.
C ORRJi:SPONDENTS AR E Il:'."VITED TO ATTAC H SThiiLAR SIDD!ARIES TO THE m CO ~DIUNI CATI O NS .

Disin;egratio n of Uraniu m by Neutrons : a N ew [Link]. [Link] :-;[Link] t<>nsion of n. [Link] d roplet i~

T ype of Nuclear React ion Lli rnin isllf'd by its ch;u·go, an,t a rough c·~t- i [Link]
0:-; homhnnling lll'n.n inm w ith neu t ron!>, l•'crmi [Link] sh ow:-; [Link] t ho s [Link] tcm;ion of nucle i, d ccrt·a sing
co! ;a [Link]~; 1 f on nt l t.h n.t 1\t lcn-st four radioactive with incrPn-sing n uc lcn.I· chm·go, m n.y become :l.f'ro fo;·
s ub~ ; :>nee~ WCI'C p roclncl'< l , to two of which at-omic atomic numbers o f t he orclor of 100.
nurn bN~ larger t ha n !12 w cro nscribcd. Furt-her I t seems [Link]'l't: foro p o~s i ble t hat. t he tll"olllillll)
inYr.,.[Link] ions • d c m on:<tra:f'<l t.l1c l'X i!itcncc o f n.t least nucleus hn:-; onl,~o· [Link] stn.b il ity of form. and ma~·.
n ine [Link] h·c peri od >", six o f w h ich wNe ossignecl [Link] neut ron cnpt.u rc, di\·idc itself into two nttcl<:i
1 0 l'ICI11<'llt !; bcyoncl [Link] , [Link] nuclear i ~omc r i;;m of ro ugh ly cqnn.l ~;i:~.o (tho precise [Link] of s izes dl·pcnd-
hnd to he n ~sni n, •cl in onlm· to account. fo r i-lw ir in~ () ll fi n('r :;ti·ucturn.l features mtd per hap s p ar t ly on
chC'micn.l b cho.v io ur together w it h t hPi r genetic c;J,:mco). T hese t wo nuclei wi ll repel each other ancl
rch•t iotH<. Hh oulcl [Link] a totn.l kinetic energy of c. 200 )leL, n;;
In [Link] n ~ chcmicn.l n.f<sig nmcnts, it wn-.~ [Link]\YS [Link]•[Link] f ro m nuclear [Link] a nd ch nrge . Tl 1is
a:-;sumcd [Link] [Link];:;o nulio;wtivc bodies hnd atom ;c [Link] t of onorgy mn.y [Link] ho expcct!'tl to bt•
numbers ncn.r [Link].t o f t he olcm ont bom [Link] , si nce n.\·[Link] f rom t ho d iffer·cnce in [Link] fraction
on ly [Link] w it h one o r t wo [Link] wore k now n hotweon umn iu m [Link] tho el omcn ts in t ho m iddle of
to bo omi [Link] from n uclei. A body , f o r exam ple, [Link] period ic systom . T ho w ho lo ' fi;;sion' p roce~s can
w it.h s imilm· p ropert ies to t hoso o f Ofirn ium w as [Link] bo clcscr ibcd in n.n osscnt ially cln:;:-;ienl way,
Msu mcd to bo c ko.-osmi u m (Z = 94 ) m t hc r than wit h out [Link] to eonnidcr qunntum -mc·clwnien.l
osmium (Z = 76) o r r u t-henium (Z = 44). 'tu n nol effect-~< ', w h ich w ould 1tetua lly be e x t. rl' m l' l ~­
Following up a n obsen ·n.t ion of Cur io 1md Savitch 3 , ::;mall, on [Link] o f t he l:wgc [Link] irn-oh·cd.
H 1•hn [Link] [Link];;smnnn • fo\.md t hat ~~ group of a.t A fter d iYision, [Link] h igh neu tron/proton [Link] of
i<'[Link] t-hree ra d ioact-ive bodies, f onnccl from u n mium u ran ium w ill t end to readjust itself by b eta decn.;.·
u nd er n nu tron b om [Link]., were chem ically ~; i m ii:l.r to tho lower vnluo suitable fo r lighter el<>nw n ts.
to [Link] · n nd , t hon ,foro, }H'C!in [Link] i~otop i c w it h Probably each p;ut w il l thus g ive ri~;o to n. cha in o f
n tcl iu tn. F t11'thor inv <>st igati on •, h owove1·, showell disintcgmt io n"<. If ono of tho pt\r~s 1 is an isot ope__ _
t-hat it w m; impo;;:-;iblo t-o ;;op~trn.t.o t-hese hodi!'s from of bariu m•, t ho other w ill b o krypton (Z = 9 2 - ;)6),
barium ([Link] mc:-;othorium, nn isotope o f rad ium, \•:hich might dccn.y through n rbicliu m , :;[Link] t ium
wn.s l'<'~td i ly :-;oparntC'd in t ho sam e experiment) , ;;o 1\.IHl yttriu m to :~.i rconiu rn. Pcrha p:; one o r
1-hn.t Hahn [Link] St-r n;;,:;m n.n n wore forcc1l t-o conc ludo two of t he Ru ppo:-;crl b [Link]-lrmt lumum·eu ri111 n
thn.t isotopes of barinm (Z = !)6) ure fanned as a ch~t i nR [Link] t,h cn [Link] strontium-yttr ium-zircon ium
cunsequcnce of the bom banlment of uranium (Z = !J2) ch [Link].
with ?1cutrons. It i ~ poi'siblc•, [Link] scPms to u:> m t.h <'r probt\ ble ,
At first !>ig h t, thi s •·esult ~ccmli vory ha rd to 1111!kr- t.h n.t t ho pci·iodR w hich h:\\'0 bo1m [Link] to e lem cms
.;ta nd. Tho formatio n o f e lcm!'llt S m uch bolow beyoncl uranium a ro [Link]'o 1luo to light clemen t,; .
urn.n iu m hat; b een f:on.;iclcrccl )),,for<', but, w ns [Link]:; From tho chem icn.l cvidPnco, t he t wo :;hor t period,;
;·ejected fo r p h y;;icn.l reasons, ;;o long n.f< t h o chcin ieal ( 10 sec. a nd 40 sec. ) :-;o fm· asct·ibcd t o 239 U m ig h t ho
m·i1lcnce waH not [Link] cle1w cut.. T hn em ission, mnsm·iurn isotop<'s (Z = 43) d ecaying through r uth -
wit h in a. ><hart time, of a lnrgo number of eh nrgc1l enium , rhodium, palln1liu m nnd silver into cadmium .
pnrt iel1·f< may h o regarded ns oxc luclod b y t-ho f;nm ll I n 1\ll t-hese cnscB it m ig ht n ot bo ncc<'~sa ry to
pcnct mbi lity of t-ho 'Coulomb barrier' , ind icHtod by assumo nnclcnr isome rism ; b u t the d ifferen t radioactive
Un.m ov 's theory of [Link]. decn.y. period:; belonging to t ho ;;ame chem icn.l clement rmw
On [Link] b as i:;, hOWC\'C'I', o f p resen t ide:\:; abou t tho t hen bo [Link] to differen t i:-;otopcs of th is clcmcn;,
lJ,•lmviotu· o f heavy nucle i•, 1~11 entirely cliff<>rent. anri s inco \"1~1',\'ing proportions of nou t-ron H m ay b e g iven
<'~se nt i 1~ll y c lns:-;ien.l pict m·o of t. hc~<e now clisintegrM,ion to tho two [Link].R of t ho urnnium nucleus .
praC<'t;~'<Ps F<uggeKI ~ it :-<df. O n account of t hei r close By bombMding thoriu m w it h nou t rons, act i\·it ies
[Link] ing mtd Rl rong !'lH11'gy [Link], tho p m·ticlcs [Link] obtained wh ich [Link] been ascribed to r itdium
in 1\ h e:~v~ n ucl eus w o uld bo expected to movo in ~~ :\ncl [Link] m i:[Link] cs•. Some of t hese periods n.r,•
[Link]-ivo wnv wh ich h a~; aomo [Link] t.o t-ho n.p p [Link] cqtml t.o p e riods of barium .mel
m ovemen t or'a liqu id drop. I f t ho movement i~ m a do IILnt-ha nmn i::;otopcs 6 !'<'s uit-ing, from the bom lnw LI-
~u ffic i !'nt l y Yiolcnt by nddi ng energy, 1;uch a drop mont of [Link]. \\'o should thcruforo like to
may d iv ide it,self in to two snmller ch·ops. s uggest t-hat th<':>e periods a rc duo to a ' lission' of
In t he d iscussion of t-ho energies inYolvcd in tho thorium which is like thn.t of .uran ium a nd rc~u lt~
.t.•formntion o f nuclei, t ho concept of su rfaco tcn:-;ion part ly in tho tmrno product-s. Of course, it would
of nuclear matter hm• been u sed' [Link] its Yaluo ha s bo cspcci>~lly interest ing if one · could obtain one of
been estimated fro m simple consiucrations rcgardin rr thcso products from n. light c lement, fo r l•Xm n pil•,
nuclear forcci<. I t mulit b o rcm cmbcrutl, howovc;, by m cn.n ;; of neu tron C>tpturo.
 240 NATURE FEB. 11, 1939, VoL. I-13 .
It might bo m<•n oi<.ao<l [Link].t tho b o<ly with h:tlf- control of tho tcmpomtm·o t o within a [Link] r [Link]
lifo 24 min.• which "''1.,; chnm ically identific<l with requires Home [Link] in tho whole Ry~;tcm, and
uranium is probably r eally "'U, nnd goes oYe r into it is difficult to preven t 'hunting'.
nn cka-rhcninm which appctws in [Link] but m ay In n. m [Link] which we :w o making of tho
dccny slow!:.·. p robably wi th crni><f;ion of alpha electronic charge, it is n ecessary t.o [Link] tho
pMticlcs. (From im;pcction of the n atuml md io- tcmpcmturo of tho (l.i r, in which nn oil drop moves,
nctivo clements, "'U cannot bo oxpcctcd to give uniform nnd constant so tho.t it hns no m [Link] duo
moro [Link] ono or two' b ctn decays ; tho long [Link] to convcct. ion. As a convenient solution of this
of obsnn·cd d ccnys hns alwnys [Link] u;;.) Tho p roblem has been foun d which ~;ccms capable of
fommtio:\ of th is l>ocly is a typicalrcsonnnco procc;;s• ; many [Link], it. is described hero.
t ho compnund f<[Link],o must Jmvo n lifo-timo 1\ million A rc:-i:-t.a nco thc1'momcter iR formed by winding a.
t im('n lon;..:"r [Link] t ho time it would take t h o single lotyor C\oil of coppm· w iro nronnu and in good
m w.:.:111• 1·~ •ii,·iuo it self. Perhaps this [Link] col'l'cspond>l [Link] cont a ct with t h o microscope condenser which
t.o 1-omo i1i;.;hly nynunotrical typo of motion of nuclom· forms part of tho nppnratus tho temperature of w hich
mnttcr which do<'S not favour 'fission' of 1.110 nucleus. is un<lor eon [Link]. (In tho accompnnying [Link]
LISE :MEIT N ER. tho condenser tube is on t ho right.) This coil forms
i',:·:,..ieal Institute, one a rm of a \Vhcatstono bridge, the other arms
Acndomy of Scioncos, b eing of manganin resistances. Any chnngo in tom-
Stockholm . p cmturo of t he appnra.t us d eflects tho light spot of
0. R. FRISCH. tho [Link] connected to this bridge, and for
Jn,;[Link] of [Link] Physics , ono dirocl,ion of deflection t ho spot f;tlJs on a p hoto -
U nivcr;;ity, electric cell, which opcr·atcs a p olnrimd relay, which
Coponhngcn . in t urn pnt,s off two :30-wtttt ll\lnps placed on oppos ite
Jan. lG. sides of tho npp:[Link]. The amplification of the
[Link] cu rrent by the photo-c lcctl'ic cell is 10',
1
Ft~rm i. 1~ ..
.Amahti, F., U'A~ o:;.t. lno. 0., Rasctti, 1·'. , nnc.l ScgrC, E.
l'roc. J:ov. Soc .. A, 146, 483 ( 1D3-l). a n d inc luding- [Link] relay about l 0 1 •
• Sco ~lo·[Link], L., Hahn, 0., nnd St.m >!l nmnn, F. , Z. P hu1., lOG, 240 The bridge is adjusted to be bala nced at a tem-
(1037). perature a few degrees above the mnximum tcm-
'Curiu, I., nnd Snvitch, 1'., C.R., ~06, OOG, 1G43 (1038). porntm ·o to which t ho r oom rises during a dny. The
• Hahn, 0., nn<l St rMsmnnn, l!'., Naturwi..., 26, 75G (I 038).
• H nh n, 0., nn<l [Link]•sma nn, 1•'., Natunoiu., 27, 11 (1D3D).
lamps flash on and off every few seconds ;md main-
•jnohr, N., NATtan;, 137, 344 , 3~1 (1D3G). . tnin tho tompornturo of the oxtcrnnl nurface of the
'l3ohr, N., nnri Kalcknr, F .. Kul. Dantkc Vid. Sclll.:ab, Math. Phv1. [Link] constnnt to about 0·002° C. After tho
M cdtl., 14, Nr . 10 (1037). t hcrl'nost o.t has been in operation for an hour, w e
• Sco )!~itncr, L., [Link], F., nn d IInhn, 0., Z. l'liv1., 109, 538
(1D38). have n ot been ab le to detect, by mcnns of a thermo ·
• llcthc, A. n .; nn<l Plnczck, G., Ph111. Rev., 51, 450 (1037). couple, any change of t em perature insido the ap-
p aratus.
T. H . LAllY'.
Natuml P hilosophy Lnbomtory, V. D . HOPPER.
A Novel Thermostat University of J\Iolbourno.
IT is often · necessary to [Link] a n [Link] at D ec. 0.
a constant [Link] o. Thir; may bo dono by
immersing it in o. circulo.t ing liquid m nintaincd nt a
constant [Link] by o. thermostat, or b y jacketing
Limitations on the Modern· Tensor Scheme of
Relativity
IT docs not appear to h ave been not iced by any-
body that tho tensor schem e of r olativ it.y is incom-
petent by [Link] to include rolntions of chirality, to
uso L ord K e lv in's t.cm1. For it is J ovclopecl from a
puro Riem [Link] geometry, o.s bane<l solely on t ho
u sc of a n idcnl mobilo n-chiml linear mcnsuring rule.
The me;\ning of relativity lms , of course, nlways been
thnt knowledge consists of the relations of ono
[Link] to nnot h cr, [Link]:v when · one type of
system of high s impli city, s uch ns t he lincnr measuring
rule, is tnkcn ns t ho [Link] of compnrison for all
others. Thi~ Rignificnnco of the chirnl property, which
is t h o differen ce between a chir:l.l system and its
m irror-imngo, for oxnmplc, between a right-hand
glove and n left -ha nd, goes back t.o Kant's ea rly
writ ing;;, and remained [Link] in his [Link] of
thought in rclntion t.o space [Link] time ; Inter, in the
moro amntcur hands of Pasteur, it [Link] a funcln·
Tl';MPJ,It ATURE·CONTROLLE D Al'l'oUtATUS. mcntnl science. Chiral sy:;tems can bo compared
complutoly only w ith chirn.l Rystcm s. Tho framo
i t with nltornato shells of thcrmnlly conduct ing and of l.'O foron co for n. ch iral system must it self hn.,·e
insnlnting [Link] h eated t o tho selected tompcra- chirn.l pt·opcrty ; for exa mple, to bo effective, tho
[Link] by means of nn intcmal electric h [Link]. These mobile m cnsuring rod of Einstein would r equire to
m ethods have t ho d isadvantages that the t hcrmo- p ossess a screw structure esscnti1\l to it. \\'hen
st niic system makes tho [Link] less accessible, tho Newton explained how ho could tell by experiment·
'
I
. r./ ,_./--.: /)
-=--··
f

Ko. 3615, FEB. 11, 1939 NATUH.E 251

Isotopes of the Alhtline Earth lVletals from Uranium

URIN'G tho ][J.s t two yerws , tho bombm·dmcnt An intcrc::;ting fc[[Link] of th is w ork is that tho
D ofur[[Link] by neutrons ho.s led to some striking production of tho n ow isotopes is enhanced b y t ho
results, dno primaril_,. to tho combined efforts of u,;c of slow [Link], and tho a -part icle disin [Link]
Prof. 0. [Link] , L . :\Icitnor [Link] F. S tr[J.::::::[Link], work- [Link] in ~>ho e.u-l ior [Link] of tho process <[Link]
ing in [Link] Kaiser 'Wilhelm [Link] of Chemistry in bcl io\·cd to bo f,ho first inst[[Link] of a -particle om is.~ion
[Link]. In [Link] t.o th1'cc [Link] isotopes effected by slow neutrons. It is, of cou rse, p ossible
of m a nium, they [Link] s nctrctlod in establishing tho thn.t tho <]undwpl icity of isotopes r esulting from tho
oxil't<•nco of six tran!l-ttranium clements of atomic bombardment of t:mninm by neutrons ta kes [Link] in
numbers 03-06, and tho existence of a seventh .,~~U. as in t-ho case of tho t [Link] -umniwn clements,
tmns -uranium clement (half-value period = 60 days) [Link] [Link] in tormodi [J,to 'thorium' isotope ·~:; Th m ay [Link]
is in<li~:-.[Link]. posses,; four [Link] periods.
J,j l'imilar experiments , I. Ctu·io and P. Savitch In tho ><ccond of t h e ir publications mentioned [J,b ovo,
oht:~i ncd ovidcnco of tho production of a substance Hahn [Link] Stm>'~mn. nn give [Link]• • r.~ of tho chemical
wit.h a lmlf-valno period of 3} hours. 'l'ho ident;ity me thods ompltlyctl in cst:[Link] Lhci r results, [1.5
of this 1\[Link] is [Link], and although tho w ol t a~ n. munhc t· of [Link]\·ity CtllTCS from which some
[Link] h:wo consider ed soYoml [Link]=-, none of of [Link] hn.l[-[Link] p oriotis hn.,·o b een dori,·od. I n order
t hem is very [Link]'fo.ctor_v. H cccnt oxpC'rimcnt.s on to cs h1.h lish beyond [Link] t ho clwmicul [Link] of
t ho chomicn.J properties of [Link] tra ns-uranium clements tho prodncts they lmvo d csignntecl 'n•cl ium' isotopes, ·
l11wo led 0. [Link] and F. Stmssmann (Natundsscn- "·hich w ere [Link] wiLh barium, t ho [Link]
schajlcn, 26, 7J5, Xov. 18, 1038; [Link] 27. 11, Jn.n. 6, carried out fmet ion[J.l [Link] [[Link] prccipito.-
l !J3!J) to look for this subf>[Link] (h[[Link]-v;[Link] period = Lions with tho a ctivo b[[Link] salts, by tho method
3} hours), and thoy lawe hoon succos~rul in [Link] used for [Link] tho concen t ration of radium in [Link]
it by tho '''• :no methods as th ose ttscd hy tho }i'ronch of barium [Link] [Link] tm1 .
worker::;. The ir irl\'ostigMions h[J.\'0 Joel t.o remarkable A s is wel l known, cry [Link] riche1· in ra d ium can
results which [Link] [Link] in what follows . bo oh [Link] b y [Link] [Link] [Link] of tho
The bomb[[Link] of uranium wit,h neutrons chloride, b romide or [Link] of [Link], wh en it
[Link].v resulted in tho product ion of fow· 1:somcric con f.a ins J'~tdium . In experiments on thrso lines,
isotopes of 'radium', which must have a risen by [Link] carried out by [Link] nnd Strassmann w ith their
succoHsi,·o a-my tram;[Link] via thorium. These act.i,·o h[[Link] preparat ions from which disintegration
four '[Link]' isotopes omit ([Link] and yield fo ur products hn.<l boon removed, negative resul ts were
isomeric isotopes of '[Link]', which , in their turn, [Link] ob f .;~incd , tlmt is , t h o activity was uniformly
by fm·[Link] emission of (3-rays, presumably givo rise [Link] amongst [Link] v[[Link] [Link] [Link],
to four isotopes of 'thorium', but details of those last whorens con trol experiments with barium [Link] ing
products aro still incompletely known. Tho results tho radium isotopes ThX and :;\IsTh 1 y ielded re1:- nl ts
so fo.r obt.::.inod may be t·oprosontod prov is ionally by conforming to [Link]-:e obtained when tho barium con-
the following scheme, in which the nature of tho tn.i ns ordinm·y radinm. In a ftirthor experiment, in
radiat ions emitted [Link] tho revised half-value periods ·which 'Raiv' and :iVIsTh 1 wore mixed w ith bariu m and
of the new products are indicated. then subjected to fractionn.l crystall [Link], only the
(J p :;\IsTh 1 W~•sconcont r[[Link] in tho process.
'Ro.;' ? - 'Ac;' - - . . ''l'h' ? Tho authors conclude from these
< 1 m. <30m. rosultH t h[J.t their '[Link]' isotopes
{I fl [Link] tho properties of [Link], and
'R~>ii' ----.. ' A C i i ' - 'Th'? that, from t ho chomic[J,l point of
14 ±2 Ill. c. 2 ·5h. view, othor clements being oxolndcd ,
+
(J "

· ~;u ~n-- •;:~u -- ·~~ Th--.. p p t hcso [Link],·o [Link] must bo r o-

'Ro.m' - - - 'A c m ' - 'Th'? [Link] o.s consist-ing not of radium
SG±Om. [Link]?
{I p Lut of ba1'imn. This conclusion has
'H~t;"' - - - • 'Ao;v'- 'Th'?
bC'on confirmed bv [Link] [Link]
250·300h. < 40 h. oxporimonts, acc'i:n·ding to n. por-
sonn.l communication from ono of
Should this scheme [Link][[Link] r epresent tho [Link], tho nuthors (O.H.).
t-h o!lo twelve now !lnbstnnccs should [Link] atom ic Hahn and S~[Link] have also subjected a mix-
weights. of value 231, and sin co a n [Link].l thorium ture of their 'Acii' [Link] [Link] a ctinium isotope :\IsTh 2
isotope (UY) of atomic weight 231 [Link] hn.l f-v[[Link] wi th ln.n [Link] [Link] to [Link][J.t ion from a nit r ic
period 2fl hou rs is al ready known, it will b e of in torost [Link] solu t;ion. At. t ho end of tho procn;;s n. g:\in in
to investigate whethe r ono of tho four 'thorium' concontraLiot\ of ?.IsTh 2 wn.s [[Link], but no increa se
isotopes is id entical with UY. in [Link] concontr<[Link] of 'Acii' was noted . }'rom th is
H a hn [Link] St;rassmann bcliovo that tho substan ce they conclude [Link].t tho l';[Link] [Link] h)· .~ ·my
found by Curio and Sn.,·itch is a mixture of the aboYo- CL1i>'<sion from their [Link]-carth pt·orluc (.;; l Lt'<> not
mcntioncd isotopes, [Link] of which lms boon indi,·idu- i:;ot [Link] of actinium, a conclusion wh ich ·' .; ;·ucs with
nlly dol ccted [Link] chomicnlly exam ined. )IorcoYor, tha t of Curio [[Link] [Link] for their composi te produc t
tho propm·ties of such o. mixt ure would ag1·co wi t h of half-Y[[Link] period 3} homs. In all p roba bility they
t h ose of tho substance [Link] by t ho latter authors, will pro,·o to bo isotopes of la11thanum. Tho p roducts
who suspect that the ir substance [Link] contains others des ignated 'Th' in tho abo,-o scheme of [Link] ,
of longer lifo, but of unlmown genesis . which constitute tho finn.! mombc:·;; of tho sories
....

252 NATUI~E FEI3 . 11, 1939, Vor.. 143

derived from tho 'Ac-La ' propamtions, [Link] prob:tblo tl mt tho succeeding olomcnts 'Ac' [Link] _'Th'
n ot; ~·et been tested fo t• thoir ident it y with will provo to ho 'Ln.' [Link] ' Co' rcspoctivoly. It rs o.s
ccri11111. t hourrh,
0
n.t Rome st:v·ro
0
in. tho procc~s resulting
c
fromt
On [Link] strcngt.h of tho 1:hcmical ovitloncc, it is tho bombanlmcnt [Link] by neutrons,:> [Link]
dill'icult to :woi<l tho conclusion thn.t tho clements . of tho nnclom; occm·;;, giving rise to tho four activo
d enoted by tho symbol 'H:t' in [Link] [Link]-montionctl isomeric [Link] ino·cart.h clomcnt.s and tho succeeding
di~intcgrn. t; ion :-;chcmo should in r [Link] t.y be do;;[Link] ' lanthanum' and 'cerium' products. Tho invc;;[Link]-
'Bn.', [Link] so fn.t· n..<~ tho ovidonco has gono it seems tions [Link] b e ing continued. R . W . L.

Su bspec i es and Var i et i es

1\ ])T:::lCU::i::iiON doali ng ·with snh:=:pocios [Link] Dr. \V. JJ . Tur'l'ill omphn.i:ize<l that [Link] taxonomic
1;.. , .[Link] was hold at the mooting of tho [Link] nro mltttcrs of scicnWic convenience [Link]
LinnNm ~ociot.y on l"obrnary 2. Th is di:>c u ~s ion lmtl on nbstrnctiom; from a continuous evolution. He
l JO<lll n :T:tngo<l n.t. tho request of tho [Link] for recognizes that for· [Link] -known floras it i>; undcsimblo
t hr· ~~ wl~· of Systo<'nmtirs in [Link] to Concml t.o n.nal_vso below tho ~[Link]~ level ; but urgotl that
B iology in ordl'r' to ohtain informMi on ""' r.o [Link] in re!M.i\·oly woll-i:t;udircl flo,·ns tho ncocl is for
Yi<·Ws · [Link] princip le;; go,·orning [Link] prn.f'[Link] of in [Link]~<i,·c sturlicf.: of infm·~<[Link] ,·[Link]:ttion from
[Link] i:;t:; in various groups of n.n imal::; and plan ts . 0\'01',\' [Link]. His own 1\~s.:-n.n:hcs luwo Jet! him to tho
It ,,·as appn.rf1nt from t he discussion that [Link].::: conclu;;ion that t;txonomic categories int.)rg [Link] com-
[Link] generally di!:<~ntisfic<l with tho existing s(:tto of plctrly. He ;mggcstcd that [Link] term '\·arict.y' should
affairs. As \\'/l.!'i to be [Link], littlo or no 1\[Link] bo usO<l for ovory J)honotypo wh ich is tho expression
is p:\id to infrn.-spocific [Link] in tho less-known of I\ rliffercnt genotype, and [Link] tho term sub:;pccics
groups of both [Link] n,JI(l [Link].l king<lom!'i ; but shoulrl uo used only when a species is in process of
where [Link] hrOL\dcr taxonomic ontlincs f\rO w ol luntlor· breaking up into n ow ones. :Ki\Jncs shoultl be g iven
stood [Link]·o is considomblo divorgonco in systom:\tic to infm-spocific groups only to servo some definite
pmcticcs according to tho a mount of gencr,icn.l, purpose, >tncl in h ighly pol,nnorphic species ~'<~'mhols
oytologicn.l nntl ccologicn.l w ork that hn::: boon clone. might bo n~;cd instca (l. Apomicts should rocoivo
In vertcbrntc;:, only a single infm -spoci fie category , dist inct [Link].
tho 'suhspccins', is gonomlly recognized, but in l\lr. A. J. 'W ilmott p ointed out thn.t confus ion
rntomology and bot·.a ny [Link] nrc others . H ow many results from u;;ing t ho worclR sp ecie;;, ~ubspccics and
thrro mn.y b o nn<l [Link] [Link] in t ho tl\xonornic variety hoth for catcgorit'S of variation in ::\aturo
schomc n.I'O mn.t·tcl'l; of <li:-;pnto, [Link] [Link] is n. dif;- and g roups of different [Link] in [Link] nomcnchtum l
tnrbi ng confusion in tho tcrminolO!,,''Y npplic<l to system. He suggc:;ted that, tho torms 'oinomo' [Link]
tlwm. In t his connoxion, it mn.y bo mentioned that '[Link]' might he snh:;t,itutcd fo r .;pcciC'~ and suh-
tho Associ:\tion i~< compiling n. l ist of (,h o various [Link] in t ho [Link]>tnrn.J o>enso, leaving the latter
torm;; which [Link] been u:::cd. Ahnost. [Link] tho »pcnkor>; free for application to catcgOJ·ios of [Link]••tion. True
sLrc,.;scd t ho n ocd for moro experi mental work from subspecies [Link] parts of tho present time :<cction of n.
[Link] gonoticn.l, cytological, physiological nnrl ecological lincngo which Juts become bmnchctl b ,v i~o l ation, but
'! Mprct:::. t.h o bmnch c>S of which nronot yot compl cwl,v· t;Op:[Link].
In op0n ing tho clio;cu>;sion, l\[r. ilL A. C. Hinton V:trictic~. on tho [Link] harid, [Link] in :\ different [Link]-
dcsCJ·ihcd [Link] p r·:•ctico of mamrnalogi;;b<, who. in gory, boing moroly (;he ob,.;o rvod phonot•.n)ic offocts
recent. y<':ws, Juwo used t,ho [Link] 'sulispocics' to of [Link].e gonos, m1d not diffnrcnt kintl8 of organism~;
oxprcs~ ~[Link] or trend.~ in gc ,)~ raphicn. l variation ; they shou ld not bo g iven name» under [Link] sn.m o
tlwy a rc [Link]:< of whll.t Dr ..Tul ian Huxley h:ts c:>llod ~'<y~tc;m n:; species and subspecies, but might bo
'clin0s' (XAnilm. 142, 21 !l; J 938). Ono principle des ignator! by symbols .
[Link] n.<"ccptcll i>S [Link] no [Link] races of [Link] [Link] )tr. ,J. S. L. Gilmour· dealt with the philosophical
sp rcies can over bo found on the same g round, t hough aspect of tho subj ect antl drew n. [Link] botwoon
cx [Link] rmlly two such forms may mont after ,·cry taxonom ic ;tnd [Link] c infrn.-sp 0citlc onto·
different histories am! journey~; [Link] cont inuo to exist gorics. The form er, whi ciJ might bo limited to :-;nb·
side by Ridn without fusing. Tho principle [Link], species, varie ty, nne! form, sh ould be [Link] flO far ;\S
unless in [Link] cn.n be [Link], dif- possible on t ho total nt.t.r ibutos of t ho intlividun.l.~
ferences, l1owovcr trivial, indic:tto specific [Link], concerned, whilo tho h~[Link] shoultl bo based on n
has !<orne thcorcticn.l support. In practico, however, selection of attributes chosen for special purposes.
it, lm:.; disadv:mtagm;, ei:pcc ially in do<lling with Exnmp!o~ of ~ur:lt non-t:\xonorn~c ca;-cgori.e~ ar~
in sulnr forms, [Link] tendo; to mru;k that most. int.or0.«ting [Link]<'or s commJscnnm','comp;wtnnl ,anrl convtnum,
[Link] [Link] phenomenon, discontinuous distri- bn·"•\! l 011 in tcrfortility cl:\ta, antl ll~• 'ful for invcsti·
bn [Link] . [Link] the relationship b [Link] :;ur:i: lbt;\ nrl!l other
The definition of F<u u~; p cc i cs is nn essential p art of [Link]·ibnt,c;;, such a.; morphological difforcnti;[Link]. Ho
[Link] intcnsin\ nnnlyf.:is of tho fn.o ts of vu.ri11tion and urged thnt th is <li;:tinction is csscn tin.l for tho proper
[Link], r•rHl if.: [Link] [Link] in p:tlroonto- ola;;sificntion of infrn.-~pc c ific [Link].~· .
log~· . b,,. pre,·cnting !coso identifications and conse- )Ir. H . \V. [Link]:>howcd that tho pmctico of horpoto·
quent. f,nJ!ty geological deductions. It i,; hoped soon logists is [Link] similar to th;tt of mammnlogisk:.
to commC'nco [Link]-o;cnlo oxporimcnts to t<ost. the He b olie\·cs, however, that owing to b ck of othet·
valuc•s and [Link] of subsp ccific [Link];; and data, sy:;[Link].;ts ha\·o bid 1mduo emphasis on
to obt nin more de fin ito information on subjects con- gcogmphic:tl considerations, with invidious result;;.
cerning wl,ich surmise £~lone i~; at pre:-;cnt possible. · Hccognition by trinomials of certain forms to tho
- ------- - --------- -·-------------------------

330 _N ATUEE FEB. 25, 1939, Vo1.. 143

Letters t o the Editor

J'hc FJditor does 11ot hold him.~elj ?' c.~pon-s l:[Link] for O}Jinions e.l:Jircs-~[Link] by h i.y CMI'C-Ypo/1/lents .
II c con not nndcrtof.·,: to ?'eturn, or tQ C(Jrrcspond with the writm·s of, reject crt 111anuscripts
intc111lc(l for this or ony other [Link] _of XATVllB. No notice is taken of onon!/IIWns commwtications_.
N'OTT·:S ON J'OTJSTS JJS SOl\IE OF TillS WI·:I•:K'S J,WJ"l'f·:ns ,\ l'l'I·:A It OJ\' 1'. :3:37.
( 'OHH t·:sl'O:"iOEXT>; Alll-: INVITJ>D TO ATTACH f-\I~IlLAlt -"'U~Ii\lAit!t•:S TO TJIEUt CO~I~IUXICATIONS.

Disintegration of Heavy Nuclei tho t;(tmc ordor of ml\gnitndo as tho onorgy [Link]
'l.'J mOvGH tho kitHlno"s of u;o [Link]·s I hiW<' i>c<>n for t.l10 escape of:\ single nuclua.r p:trticlo. For ~nmo ­
infornwrl of ~ho content. of tho lett-ers ' reccntlv ><nat wha.t lighter nuclei, howovor, whore only ovapomtion-
tn t-ltn Etlit-or of NATUJtJ·: hy P rof. l\'[[Link] m{d Dr. liko [Link] h n.\·o so f:w boon obson'od, tho
_i•':·i~,·h. I n tho fir><t. Iotter, these~ anthors proposo :m form ot· onor[:,'Y s hould be considerably lnrgor than tho
in t.,[Link] of t-ho r [Link]'lmbln finding,; of J-f,\hn binding onorgy of a p:\rtielo.
[Link] [Link] n,; indict\tion for 1\ n,m- t,\·po of These c ircu m:;htncos find thoir stn\ightforw;\rd
disint<,grat-ion of hea vy n\lcl0i, con,;isting in r~ Jis~i on oxp![Link],ion in t-ho fl\Ct, strcs,:;cd hy _:\[,Jitncr and
of t-ho nuc lons in to two [Link] of npproxim:\1 " 1~, e< JH•d Frisch, r-hn.t [Link] · mulual rcpnls iOt{ botwoen the
ma~~ c ·,; :trH.l dmrgns with roloaso of enormous onorgy. olocl'-ric <:lmrgcs in r\ nucl(ms will for highly charged
In tho second lnttcr, Dr. Frisch describes oxpcri - 11.\l(:loi counteract to n. largo extent tho effect of tho
nu'n(s in which thoso [Link] [Link] diroctly [Link] hy shot't-nmgo forcos hotwcon tho nncloar pt>rticlos in
t-ho very llu·go ioni7.<\tion thoy produco. Duo to t-ho opposing a d t,fornmtion of [Link] nncleu!'l. Tho nuclon:·
ox [Link] imp01·tnuco of [Link] rl isco\·ory. I r;houl<l ho pro iJlcm coneorncc lrom inds us in(lcotl in sovcrn.l ways
g lad to ncld 1\ fow eommonts o n [Link] m ochtmi r:;m of t ho of tho CJIIC'stion of tho st:1bili ty of a charged li•p;icl
fiss ion process from tho point of view of tho gonoml drop, mHl in ptwticnln.r, [Link] d oform•ltion of;\ nucleus.
idon.s, d uvd opccl in recent years, to [Link] t for t,h o sullic ion tly [Link] for its fi ~sion, may bo t roatod
[Link] fo:\tu ros of tho nucl oar reactions hithorto approximately as a [Link] mechn.n ical problem,
obson·ocl. s in(:O t-ho corresponding amplitude must evidently bo
Aeeorrling t,o these ideas, anv nuclcmr reaction lm·go [Link] with tho fJlUtntnm :[Link].l u"·o-
ini t.i<\L0d by coll ision s or radiation involves as :m point oscillations. J ust this condition would in t<\Ct
int-c nnecliato stn.~o tho formn.t ion of n. compound ><oom to provide an Hndor;;[Link] of t ho [Link]
nnclew; in whi('.h t h o [Link] onorgy is distri- stubi lity of h eavy nuclei in t hoir normal stato or in
[Link] mnong t-ho \'ltl'ious dngr1~os of freedom in tho sta tes of low excitation . in spite of tho large
n. wn.y resomhling tho thornml ngitation of a solid nmount of energy which woul<l bo liberated by an
o r liqui<l bod-"·· Tho rol<tti\'0 prob:\bilitios of t ho imagi nable division of such nuclei.
diffot·c,nt p o~-<siblc cou rses of tho [Link] will thoro- Tho contimmtion o f tho cxpm·imonts on tho now
1
fo ro depend o n tho facilit;y with ·which this onorgy ty p o of nnclem· cli8intogmtion:>, [Link] [Link] all tho
is oiLhor· [Link] as rndiation o r converted into a closor ox;\mimttion of tho no:1<litions for· their
form s ni tc<l to proclnco tho di:;intogmtion of tho oocnrrcnco, should [Link] yiold most [Link]
compound nucleus. In t ho case of ordin:wy rcnctiom<, information as rcg11rds tho [Link] of nuclear
in whieh tho di sint-ogmtion consi>'<ts in t-ho eo;capo of exci t.n.t ion.
:t singlo pa-rticle, this convurs ion mcnns t ho concontrn.- N. BOHR.
tion of n. largo pn.t·t of tho energy on somo p·art,iclo At. t;h e Instituto for Advanced StHdy,
at{ tho surfaeo of tho nucleus, nnclresombles therefore Princeton, N ..J. Jn.n. 20.
tho ovnpomti on of n. molecule fr om a liquid clt·op. • (NA'ruln:, 143, 239 nnd 27~ (1039)].
In t.i:o cnso of [Link] compnrablo to t ho
divi;; inn of such a drop into two droplets, it is
[Link] ncccs"itry, hm\-o\·or, t hat t,ho qunsi-tlrormn l Photoactivation of Solids and its Effect on Adsorption
tlistriuut,ion of energ y J,o largely con\·crtetl into CoXS lDEHABLI-: at,t,mtion has been given recently
somo special modo of vibration of tho compound to chomical procossc,; involving n.n 11ctiv:tting [Link]
nucleus involving :\ considcmblo [Link] of tho of n. c:y;t(t.l excited by inac!iation' . The [Link]
n uclent· Rurfaco. of such photosonsitimd [Link], althoug h unknown
In lwth cnscs, tho cmu·so of the di,.;~ntogration mn,y in <[Link], is goncmlly bol iovcd to b o u. more or less
tints bo ~;a i d to l'OSult from a fluctua.t ion in Lho complete [Link] of t ho energy [Link] b y tho
s [Link]:tl [Link] of [Link] cnorgy [Link] tho cry;;tal to the reacting component-s, phys ically o r
[Link] ons d egrees of [Link] o rn of tho ~,·stem , U10 proh- chomic•tl ly. Accordint:ly, tho cs:senti;\l cliffurcncc
1\hility of oee\u-roncn of wliieh if' nssonLially d oter - botweon photoscn:;iti?.cll proco!'so:-; n.J)d r c: ~l photo ·
mined by t-ho nmou n t of cnorgy t-o h o concontmtod chem ical o n e::; i:> tho clistanco b etween tho place of
on t ho particular typo of m otion cons idered [Link] by absorption and the place of reaction . l3ut thcl'O
tho 'Lompomt;uro' corrc,;p ond ing t-o tho nuclo:tr mns t also be another·, m ore gonoml, offoct of iJTadin. -
excitat-io n. :::iince tho effective eroo;s-soctions for t-ho tion on t he :>ctivit\· of cr [Link] . Dno to the chan"'o
fission phcnomnnl\ fo r neutrons of cliffcront. \·eloc ities in tho electronic f<tato of 'tho partie!.;:; in tho hltt.i~e
scom to be of I\bon t tho s:[Link] order of mn.g n it\H le 1\s by tho absorption of lig ht (ch;[Link] in cimrgo [Link] degree
tho cro;:;; -spctions for ordinary nuclcnr [Link], we of polari;[Link], form<[Link] of space chm·goil, etc.), tho
mn.y tlw rofo ro conclude that fot· tho heaviest nuclei . for ces between tho pMticlos arc changed 1md, con·
tho d ~J fonn•H, ion e nergy snflieiont for tho fissio n is of scqucntly, thoro ir; o.l:;o o, [Link] in potonti;.l of tho
 Reprinted from THE PHYSICAL REVIEW, Vol. 55, No. 8, 799-800, April 15, 1939
Printed in U. S. A.

Instantaneous Emission of Fast Neutrons in the Interaction of Slow Neutrons with Uranium•
R ecently it became known 1 that uranium ca n be split
by neutrons into two elements of about equal atomic
weight. I n this fission of uranium the two elements pro-
duced have a large neutron excess; moreover they are
probably produced in an excited nuclear state. One might
t herefore expect that these excited fragments instanta-
neously emit neutrons and that perhaps t he number
emitted is even larger than one per fission.
One might a lso expect a delayed emission of neutrons-
as was first pointed out by Fermi-if some of the frag-
ments go t hrough one or more beta-tra nsformatio ns before
they emit a neutron. Delayed emission of neutrons caused
by the action of both slow and fast neutrons on uran ium
has recently been reported by Roberts, Meyer, and Wang,•
FIG. I. Arrangement for the observation of t he emission of fast
who find a period of a bout 12 seconds. neutrons from uranium. A, Radi um. B. Beryllium block. C, Paraffin
I n order to see if there is an instantaneous emission of wax. D, Lead block. []., Box filled with uranium oxide. F , Ionization
chamber. G, Cadmium sheet cap . ll, Cadmium sheet shield.
neutrons from the fission of uranium we have performed
the following experiment. We exposed uran iu m. oxide to
neutrons which were slowed down by paraffin wax, using Control experiments were carried out in which uranium
as a sou rce of neutron.s a block of beryllium from which was replaced by lead. T he effect of the presence a nd ab-
photoneutrons were liberated by the· gamma-rays of sence of the cadmium shield H and the cadmium cap G
radium. A helium-filled ionization chamber connected to was tested.
a linear ampli fier served as a detector for fast neut rons. In order to estimate the number of fast neutrons emitted
The ionization pulses of t he chamber were observed per fission under the action of therma l neutrons we used
visua lly by means of a cathode-ray oscillograph and were a n ionization chamber lined wit h a t hick layer of uranium
recorded by the usual counting arrangement. oxide having a n area o f 25 em•. This uranium chamber
Fig ure 1 shows a diagram of the experimental arrange- was put in place of the helium chamber without otherwise
ment . T he io nization chamber is covered by a cadmium materially cha nging the experimental arrangement . Und er
sheet cap G which prevents the t herma l neutrons from these cond itions the uranium chamber gave about 45
penetrating to the helium ionization chamber. A cadmium fissions per minu te. Assuming the range of the fiss ion
sheet shield H, 0.5 mm thick, is used to cover the cyl in- fragments to be about 0.005 g per em• in ura nium oxide,
drical box E which contains 2300 g of uranium oxide. t he observed 45 fissions per minute should occur in a
T he u ranium oxide is screened from the thermal neut rons surface layer, weighing 0.13 g, o f the thick uranium oxide
by this sh ield and can be exposed to them simply by lining. Accord ingly, abou t 800,000 fissions per minute
removing the shield. should occur in the 2300 g of uranium oxide which was
We observed a bout 50 pulses per minute from the used in our experiment. By taking into account the solid
heliu m cha mber when we exposed the ura ni um ·oxide to angle, the size of the helium chamber and t he pressurli
the t hermal neutrons in t he absence o f t he cadm iu m shield used , and by assuming that the "fission neutrons" ha\(~
H, but obtained only 5 pulses per minute when t he uranium a n average collision cross section in hel ium of 3.5 X 10-24 Gfl'
was screened from the thermal neutrons by the cadm ium we find the number of neutrons emitted per fission to be
shield. The d ifference of abou t 45 pulses per minute we a bout two.
have to attribute to fast neutrons emitted from uranium This number is of course only a rough estimate; the
under the action of thermal neutrons. It is reasonable to main cause of uncerta inty is t he considerable variation of
assume t hat this emission of fast neutrons is con nected the cross section of helium with the neutron energy in
with t he fission of uranium. the region around one millio n volts.s A hydrogen-filled
2 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ionization chamber is now being used in order to obtain a more than 12 minutes, we observed .o nly two pulses which
more accurate estimate. It seems to be established, how- may or may not have been due to a delayed emission of
ever, that the order of magnitude is one neutron per fast neutrons. This is to be compared with the emission
fission. of 45 fast neutrons per minute, the number observed
Anderson, Fermi and Hanstcin have independently, while the radium is inside the beryllium block. We conclude
and by a different method, carried out experiments on that, if slow neutrons falling on uranium cause a delayed
the neutron emission connected with the fission of uranium. emission of neutrons which are sufficiently fast for us to
Our observations are consistent with their results, and we observe, their number must be very much smaller than the
wish to thank them for communicating their results to us number of neutrons which we have observed in the instan-
before publication. " taneous emission.
While from our observations we can only say that the We are indebted to Dr. S. Seely for his assistance in
time delay involved in t his "instantaneous" neutron carrying out some of these experiments. 'We wish to thank
emission appears to be less than one second, we should the Department of Physics of Columbia University for the
expect, for theoretical reasons, this emission to take place
hospitality and the facilities extended to us, and also wish
within less than 10-u second.
to thank the Association for Scientific Collaboration for
We have also looked for a delayed emission of fa st
enabling us to use one gram of radium in these experiments.
neutrons by performing the following experiment. The
LEO SziLARD
uranium oxide was irradiated for some length of time in
the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. Then the radium was WALTER H. ZINN

quickly removed from the beryllium block and the cathode- Pupin Physics Laboratories,
ray oscillograph screen was watched for · a period of 15 Columbia University.
New York, New York,
seconds for an indication of a delayed emission of fast March 16, 1939.
neutrons. After the radium is removed there is no gamma- • Publication assisted by the Ernest Kempton Adams Fund for
ray background to set a lower lim it for the observable Physical Research of Columbia University.
'0. Hahn and F. Strassmann, Naturwiss. 27, II (1939); L. Meitner
helium recoil energy; the only slight background remaining and R . Frisch. Nature (February, 1939).
is due to electrical fluctuations of . the amplifier. In 50 • R. B. Roberts, R. C. Meyer, a nd P. Wang, Phys. Rev. 55, 5 10
(1939).
experiments, corresponding to a total observation time of • H. Staub and W. E. Stephens, Phys. Rev. 55, 131 (1939).
 ~(J -NM•~(·

OCTOBER I, 19 39 PHYSICAL REVIEW V 0 L U 1-1 E S6

Printed i.n U. S. A.

Emission of Neutrons by Uranium*

W. H. ZINN, City College, The College of the City of New York , New York
LEo SziLARD, Pupi11 Physics Labora-tories, Columbia University, New York, New York
(Received August 14, 1939)

Fast neutrons emitted by uranium under the action of chamber filled with hydrogen and argon. The number
thermal neutrons were studied by using a radium-beryllium found is brought into relationship with the number of
photoneutron source . The backgrou nd due to the primary fission s, observed under comparable conditions, in an
neutrons can be neglected since only a few of the photo- ionization chamber lined wit h a t hin film of uranium oxide
neutrons are sufficiently fast to be coun ted. Data arc containing a known a mount of uranium. In this way it is
obtained concern ing the energy spectrum of the uranium found t hat about 2.3 neutrons are emitted per fission.
fission neutrons by recording photographically by means of The method used wou ld permit a greater accuracy in t he
a linear a mplifier and cathode-ray oscillograph t he pulses determination of this number than the actual accuracy
due to helium atoms pro jected in a n ionization chamber. obtained in the present experiments. This number, to-
Visual inspect ion of the record gives an upper limit of the gether with the fission cross section and the cross section
spectrum of 3.5 Mev. The number of neutrons emitted is for radiative capture gives the number of neutrons pro-
estimated b y analyzing the pulse distribution of hydrogen duced for each thermal neutron absorbed in uranium.
atoms projected
,. by uran ium neutrons in an ionization

W E reported 1 some time ago that fast

neutrons are emitted-apparently instan-
presence of uranium. Others4 have investigated
the same phenomenon.
taneously-from uranium under the action of Before this "instantaneous" emission had been
thermal neu trons a nd we found , as a rough observed, Roberts, Meyer and Wang 5 d iscovered
estimate, an average of two neutrons per fission a delayed emission of neutrons from uranium
process. This resu lt was obtained by counting the which apparently follows a beta-transformation
helium recoil nuclei which the fission neutrons of a half-life period of twelve seconds. We had
project in a helium-filled ionization chamber. The found that the instanta neous emission was very
emission of neutrons in the fission of uranium much stronger than the delayed emission and we
was independently discovered by von Halban , assumed that it corresponds to a direct ejection
Joliot and Kowarski 2 as well as by Anderson, of neutrons from the uranium fragments, with-
Fermi and H anstein,3 who observed an increase out being preceded by a beta-transformation,
of the thermal neutron density in water in the and that accordingly the time delay involved is
• Publication assisted by the Ernest Kempton Adams fa r too small to be measured by the usual
Fund for Physical Research of Columbia University.
1 L. Szilard a nd W. H . Zinn, Phys. Rev. 55, 799 (1939). 4
G. P. Thomson, J. L. Michiels and G. Parry, Nature
2 H. von Ha lban, F. J oliot and L. Kowarski, Nature
143, 760 (1939); G. von Droste and H. Reddeman, Nat.
143, 470 (1939). Wiss. 20/21, 371 (1939).
3 H . L. Anderson, E. Fermi and H'. B. Hanstein, Phys. 6 R. B. Roberts, R. C. Meyer and P. Wang, Phys. Rev.
Rev. 55, 797 (1939). 55, 510 (1939). 0

619
620 W. H. ZINN AND L. SZILARD

used for estimating the number emitted per

fission.
The experimental arrangement is shown in
Fig. 1. The source of thermal neutrons was about
one gram of radium, A, placed in the center of a
beryllium block, B, and surrounded by a paraffin
cylinder, C. Fast neutrons emitted under the
action of the thermal . neutrons by about 430
grams of uranium metal enclosed in the cell E
FIG. 1. Arrangement for the observation of the emission were detected by the spherical ionization cham-'
of fa st neutrons from uranium. A-radium; B-beryllium ber, F. The pulses from the chamber were fed
block; C- para ffin wax; D-lead; E-uranium cell· F-
spherical . ionization chamber; G-cadmium sheet' cap; into a linear amplifier and were made visible by
Jl-cadnuum sheet shield. means of a cathode-ray oscillograph. A camera
with a. moving film was used to obtain a photo-
methods. This assumption was based on the graphic record of the pulses appearing on the
arguments tha t it would be very difficult to oscillograph screen.
explain the great abundance of the instantaneous Two such records are shown in Fig. 2 ; one was
neutron emission without assuming direct ejec- obta ined in the absence· and the other in the
tion and that no hard beta-rays were observed presence of the cadmium sheet shield, H. The
which should be expected to be present if the shield H completely surrounds the uranium and
neutron emission followed a very short-lived shuts it off from most of the thermal neutrons
beta-transformation. From direct experimental leaving a background of pulses which is partly'
due to particularly fast photoneutrons from the
evidence, however, we could not exclude a delay
source, and partly due to fission neutrons from
smaller than one-tenth of a second. Gibbs and
the uranium emitted under the action of t he few
Thomson° have now shown by direct experiments
thermal neutrons which pass through the cad-
that the delay is smaller than one-thousandth
mium shield. This background amounts to less
of a second and this appears to leave little doubt
than one pulse per minute.
as to a direct ejection of neutrons.
The ionization chamber, which was filled with
Iry the present experiments helium recoils were 10 atmospheres of hydrogen and 8 atmospheres
used for investigating the energy distribution of
of argon, contained a small amount of nitrogen.
the fission neutrons, but hydrogen recoils were
By removing the cadmium cap, G, from the
chamber the nitrogen atoms in the chamber can
'D. F. Gibbs and G. P. Thomson, Nature 144, 202
(1939). be exposed to the action of thermal neutrons and
 EMISSION OF NEUTRONS BY URANIUM 621

0:
:>
60
::&:
0:
UJ
Q.

en
UJ
en
_,
40 Q.

_,
0
0
UJ
0:

20

0
ENERGY IN MEV.

FIG. 3. Curve I: Pulse distribution due to helium recoils. Ionization chamber filled with
10 atmospheres of helium and 10 atmospheres of argon. Curve II: Pulse d istribution P (E)
due to hydrogen recoils. Ionization chamber filled with 10 atmospheres of hydrogen and 8
atmospheres of argon. Curve III: Pulse distribution due to protons emitted, under t he
action of thermal neutrons, by a small amount of nitrogen in the chamber filled with 10 at-
mospheres of helium a nd 10 atmospheres of argon.

will then emit protons of about 0.6 Mev energy.7 energy, E., do not contrib~te to the recorded
The pulses due to these protons were recorded pulse distribution and their number has to be
and -their distribut ion is shown in curve III of determined from the shape of the neutron
Fig. 3. This curve shows a sharp maxi mum which spectrum, provided this spectrum is known.
should correspond to an energy of about 0.6 Mev, If the time required for the collection of ions in
and therefore this curve was used for calibrating. the chamber were short compared with the time
the ionization chamber. constant of the amplifier, the size of the pulses
In order to find from the observed number of recorded by the oscillograph might be considered
hydrogen recoils t he number of neutrons which a fair measure of the energy which the recoil
pass through the chamber it is necessary to know proton loses in the chamber. Even so, the size of
something about the energy distribution of the the pulses cannot be considered a measure of the
fission neutrons. This knowledge is required for initial energy of the recoil protons if these lose
two reasons. First, the scattering cross section of only part of their energy in the chamber and are
hydrogen is a function of the neutron energy; stopped by the walls. Therefore, if R(E)dE is t he
secondly, the observed pulse distribution of the number of recoil protons having an initial energy
hydrogen recoils is cut off a t a certain energy E., between E and E+dE, and if P(E)dE is the
which in this case was 0.55 Mev, in order to number of recoil protons which lose in the
avoid the counting of pulses in the region which chamber an amount of energy between E and
is affected by the gam ma-ray background. E+dE, these two func tions will be rather
Neutrons which have an energy below this cut-off different in the high energy region where the
7 ]. Chadwick and M. Goldhaber, Proc. Camb. Phil. range of the recoil protons cannot be neglected in
Soc. 31, 612 (1935); T. W. Bonner and W. M. Brubaker, comparison with the linear dimensions of the
Phys. Rev. 49, 778 (1936); M. S. Livingston a nd H. A.
Bethe, Rev. Mod. Phys. 9, 344 (1937). chamber. For the hydrogen-argon filled chamber
 622 W. H. ZINN AND L. SZ IL ARD

8
which was used the two functions can be ex-
pected to coincide very nearly in the region of the
cut-off energy E ., and can be expected to differ
widely for energies above 1.5 Mev. 6
\
For this reason helium recoils (which have
about -fo the ra nge of recoil protons for equal
neutron energies) had to be used instead of 4 0
~
X
z
\ ~
hydrogen recoils in order to find the upper end of
;:
.., ~
the energy spectrum of the fission neutrons.
Curve I, in Fig. 3, shows the pulse distribution of 2~
0
"'
<II
r----- t--
-
helium recoils obtained with 10 atmospheres of a:
..,
helium and 10 atmospheres of argon in the
chamber. This curve shows that the spectrum of 0
10
NEUTF!ON EI"#EF!GY- MEV
2.0 3. 4.0
the fission neutrons extends to about 3.5 Mev.
FIG. 4. Neutron-proton cross section as a funct ion of neu-
Though the existence of a small number of high tron energy according to current t heory.
energy neutrons such as reported by von Halban,
J oliot and Kowarski, 8 is not inconsistent with our the ionization chamber. From this we derive, for
result, the number of neutrons having energies the total number of neutrons, N, passing through
above 4 Mev appears to be too small to have the chamber:
much bearing on our estimate of the total num-
ber of fission neutrons.
Since the calibration of the chamber, which we
performed by means of protons, is not entirely
satisfactory for correlating the size of the pulses where a is the ratio of the total number of
due to helium recoils with the energy of the neutrons to the number of neutrons which have
helium recoils, the helium-argon filled chamber an energy in excess of Ec, and <TAv is an average
was also calibrated by means of D+D neutrons scattering cross section of the proton, the val ue
of 2.5 Mev energy. The two calibrations coincided of which has to be determined from the energy
within the limits of the experimental error. spectr~:~m of the neutrons. Since we have:
An estimate of the number of fission neutrons
should be based on a count of hydrogen recoils
rather than helium recoils since the scattering [ <»R(E)dE=f<»P(E)dE
• 0 0
cross section of helium has a sharp maximum 9 for
neutrons of about 1.0 Mev energy, and helium and since, for the reasons stated above, we have
is therefore not suitable for the purposes of a with good approximation:
quantitative estimate. It can be shown that, if
R(E) ~P(E) for E=s.E.,
the neutron-proton scattering is spherically
symmetrical in the system of the center of we can express N in terms of P(E) instead of
gravity, the number of neutrons N(E)dE which R (E). We then have :
pass through the chamber, a nd which have an
energy between E and E+dE, is given by:
E dR(E)
N(E) = - - - - - ,
Hu(E) dE Let it now be assumed for the sake of argument
that all the neu trons a re emitted from a moving
where u(E) is the scattering cross section of the uranium fragment which has a mass number of
proton a nd I-I is the number of hydrogen a toms in about 120 and a kinetic energy of about 100 Mev.
a H . von Halban, F. Joliet and L. Kowarski, Nature If a ll the neutrons were emitted from such a
143, 939 (1939). moving fragment with a single energy Eo, the
t H. Staub a nd W. E . Stephens, Phys. Rev. 55, 131
(1939). energy distribution of the neutrons in the
 ..·

EMISSION OF NEUTRONS BY URANIUM 623

laboratory reference system would stretch from: chamber in the absence of the cadmium cap, G, is

Ernin=(0.9-Eoi) 2 Mev N* = 2.415 X 10- 21(a/ uA,) per minute.

to: From N* the number, K, of neutrons emitted per
Emax= (0.9+Eol) 2 Mev. minute by the uranium was calculated by taking
into account the geometrical factors, including
It is easy to see tha t the neutrons should be
uniformly distributed in this energy interval if the variation of the thermal neutron density
their distribution is spherically . symmetrical within the uranium cell. K is thus found to be:
in the center of mass system. ''One obtains K =8.25 X 10-10 (a/uA,) per minute.
accordingly:
In order to obtain the number of neutrons
a= (Em ax- Em in) I (Emnx- Ec) emitted per fission it is necessary to compare K
and with the number of fissions, L, which occur in the
uranium under the conditions of this experiment.
For this purpose both the ionization chamber and
the uranium cell were removed and a parallel
Using for u(E) the curve shown in Fig. 4 which plate ionization chamber lined with a thick layer
has been theoreticaJly derived, 10 the following of uranium oxide was placed in the position
values of a/ uA, are obtained for various values previously ·o ccupied by the uranium cell. The
of Emax· number of fissions produced in this chamber was
EmtLx 2.0 Mev 3.0 Mev 4.0 Mev observed and found to be 19 per minute. The
a / <TAv 0.316X10+2' 0.353 X 10+24 0.388X 10+14
chamber was then calibrated by comparing the
The variation of a/uA, with Emax is so slight number of fissions obtained from t he thick
because of the manner in which both a a nd UAv uranium oxide layer with the number of fissions
decrease with rising Emnx· obtained in the same chamber at the same
The value of the expression : thermal neutron intensity from a thin layer of
uranium oxide containing 1.4 mg of uranium.
The calibration was carried out by using a
particularly strong neutron source, so as to
obtain a sufficiently large number of counts from
was found from the observed pulse distribution the thin layer. The ratio of t he fission counts
(curve II of Fig. 3) to be 13.7 pulses per minute. from the thick layer and from the thin layer was
Since the number I-I of hydrogen atoms in the found to be 29.2, from which it is concluded that
chamber was II =6.9X 10+21 the number of 196,000 fissions per minute should take place in
neutrons passing through the chamber is the ura nium cell containing 427.7 grams of
uranium. This would be the number of fissions if
N=L98X10- 21(a/uA,) per minute. the density of the thermal neutrons were not
If t he cadmium cap G is removed the number red uced in the uranium cell due to the absorption
of thermal neutrons reaching the uranium cell is of such neutrons in uranium. We estimate that
increased and the number of fast neutrons the average density of thermal neutrons within
passing through the ionization chamber is in- the cell · is reduced by a factor of 0.715. The
creased by the same factor. This factor was number of fissions L actually taking place within
found to be 1.22 by filling the ionization chamber the cell is therefore
with pure hydrogen a nd then counting the L= 140,000 per minute.
hydrogen recoils giving rise to pulses above a
certain a rbitrarily set level, both in the presence In order to estimate t he red uction of the
average thermal neutron density within the
and absence of the cadmium cap. Thus the
number of neutrons N*which pass through the· uranium cell leading to the factor of 0. 715, we
first explored the anisotropy of the thermal
10 J. Schwinger and E. Teller, Phys. Rev. 52, 286 (1937). neutron radiation near the uranium cell by means
624 w·. H. ZINN AND L. SZILARD

of a rhodium indicator, and then calculated the nuclear chain reactions. At present we have the
thermal neutron d ensity within the uranium by following set of values: number of neutrons per
assuming the distribution of thermal neutrons to fission, 2.3; fission cross section, 11 2.0 X 10-24 cm2 ;
be the same as would result from the superposi- cross section for radiative capture 12 1.3 or
tion of two parallel thermal neutron beams, one 1.2 X 10- 24 cm2 • According to these values, the
directed away from the source and the other number of neutrons emitted by uranium per
towards it, and having an intensity ratio of 3 to thermal neutron absorbed should be 1.4, which
1. We assume exponential absorption for these agrees with the value of 1.5 recently obtained by
two beams within the uraniuttl and an exponent another method by Anderson, Fermi and
corresponding to a half-value thickness in uran- Szilard. 13 Too much significance should not be
ium of 14 g per cm2 • attributed to this agreement, since the values
The number of neutrons emitted per fission is given above are subject to fairly wide experi-
mental errors.
K/ L = 5.9 X 10- 24 (a/<TAY). If required the present experiments could be
This number should be increased by perhaps repeated with greater accuracy since the method
10 percent in order to correct for the fact that used is quite capable of being applied with
P(E) d oes not exactly coincide with R(E) even greater precision. Moreover, it gives the number
for E':5Ec. The magnitude of this correction was of neutrons per fission independently of the value
estimated by comparing for D+D neutrons of of the fission cross section which enters into t he
2.5 Mev energy the observed pulse distribution method used by von Hal ban, Joliot and Kowarski.
P(E) with the calculated distribution R(E) in the These authors report 14 a value of 3.5 ±0. 7 neu-
region of the low recoil energies. Making this trons per fission.
correction one finds for p, the number of neutrons It should be mentioned that it appears to be
per fission essential for the method presented here to work
p = 6.5 X 10- 24 (a/11Av). with a low background count. The background
is due to the primary neutrons and can be kept
Using for a/<TAv the value 0.353 X 10- 24 which small by using a photoneutron source. We did
corresponds to Emax = 3 Mev rather than to the not find it possible to obtain quantitative results
actually observed upper limit of the fission by using neutrons from radon-beryllium sources
neutren spectrum , one finds or from the D + D reaction on account of the high
p=2.3. background count due to the primary neutrons.
We are indebted to Dr. G. N. Glasoe for
Since the fission neutrons hardly will be emitted suggesting the method of obtaining the photo-
with a single energy E 0 , too high a val ue for graphic records a nd for much valuable advice in
a/uA• would be obtained if the observed value of this connection, and to Dr. E. T. Booth for
the upper limit of the energy spectrum were determining by means of an alpha-particle count
used for EmAx· In a ny case the error introduced the uranium content of the thin uranium sheet
by the uncertainty of the actval energy distri- which we used for purposes of calibration . Also,
bution of the fission neutrons should be small we wish to thank the Department of Physics of
since one finds for Columbia University for the laboratory facilities
EmAx=2 Mev p=2.0 plated at our disposal and the Association for
and for Scientific Collaboration for enabling us to obtain
EmAx=4 Mev p=2.5. the radium used in this experiment.
11 H. Anderson, E. Booth, J. Dunning, E. Fermi, G.
More serious, however, may be a number of Glasoe and F. Slack, Phys. Rev. 55, 511 (1939).
experimental inaccuracies which might con- 12 H. v. Halban, L. Kowarski and P. Savitch, Comptes

ceivably add up to give a considerable error. rendus208, 1396 (1939); H . L. Anderson and E. Fermi,
Phys. Rev. 55, 1106 (1939).
The interest in the number of neutrons emitted u H. L. Anderson, E . Fermi and L. Szilard, Phys. Rev.
per fission arose out of its obvious importance 56, 284 (1939).
14 H . von Halban, F. Joliet and L. Kowarski, Nature 143,
from the point of view of the possibility of 680 (1939).
 --·~ ...
Albert Zinstein
Old: Grove :-tel.
1fassau ?o iYlt
Peconic, Long Island
Au~ust 2nd, 1939

F.D • .aoosevc::.t,
P·r [Link] of the 'United. States,
~:[Link] te House
Washington, D.C.

Sir:
Sene recent uork by [Link] and L. Szilard, which has been com-
rnunica ted to me in m::musc_ript, leads me to e:A.J_)ect that the elc~en t urun-
ium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in tfl.c in:-
[Link] future. Certain aspects of the situation v1hich has arisen seem
to call for watcl1fulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part
of the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to brin~

to your at tent ion the follo\7ine facts and 1·[Link]:

In the course of the last four months it has been made probable -

throuch the y:ork of Joliot in :?ranee as -rrell as. Fermi and Szilard in
· Junerica - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain :ceactio;1

in a · large mass of uranium ,by ·ahich vast amounts of. powe:r and larGe qu:::.;.1 ~-

ities . of new radium-like elements would be Generated. How it a:9l1ears

. almost [Link] that this could be achieved in the i:[Link] futu:::-e.

This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction o:· bo:.:-:1bs,
and it is conceivable - though rmch less certain - that ex'..:rer:1ely }?O"";i er-
ful oomts of a new type may thus be · constructed • .A sin~;le bo~b of this
type, [Link] by boat and exploc,led in a port, night very well dest1·oy
the •;!hole port toGcthe1· \'Ji th some of the surrounding territory. Hc·:;cv-c:·,

nuch bon!bs night ve!:'y \'tell :prove to be too heuvy fo::::- [Link]:-tation by

air •.
 1

-2-
The United State;:; has only very poor ores o,f urc:~niu.m in r.1oderatc . , , .
c;.u·antities. Ti1ere is some e;ood ore in .Canada and the former Czechoslovc:.}~ia,
[Link] the nost important source of uraniu~ is Belcian ·conGo·
In ·vievi of this situation you may think it desirabl.e to ha-ve some
permanent contact maintained bet~een the Administration and the Group.
of physicists workinG on chain reactions in .A.~.-nerica. One :possib2.e Y!ay
of achieving this miGht be for you to entru.s t with this .task a person
who hc.s your ·confidence and ·uho could :perhc::.ps serve in an inofficial
c~pacity. His task micnt comprise the following:
a) to approach Government Departments, keep them infonaecl of the
furt'her developr:lCnt, and Pll;t forward recotmlendations for Government action,
eivin~ particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of urGn-
. ium ore for the United States;
b) to speed up the e~~erimental work,uhich is at present being car-
ried on ~ithin the limits of the bud~ets · of Uni-versity laboratories, by
providing funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with
:private persons who are willine; to malc.e contributions fo:;:- this cause,
and perhaps also by obtainin~ the co-operation of industrial labor~tories

uhich have the necessary equip~ent.

· I understand that Ge~any has actuelly stop)ed the sale of urani~

fron the Czechoslovakian mines · \:hich she has tal~ en over. That she should.
have ta.::en such early action l':light perhaps be understood on the gr-otmcl
that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, . von '.:Teizsliclcer, is
attached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Insti tut in :Oerlin Y:here some of . the
.t\mcrican work on uranium is now being repeated.
Yours very truly,
;I --~-
· (Albert Eins tein)
 :\o. 3651, OCT. 21, 1939 NATURE 707
F ission of Uranium under Deuteron Bombardment [Link] measurements h ave beon [Link] o n
:-i i JS"Cl' tho phenomenon of neutron-induced fission tho [Link] fw1ction fo r deuteron- induced fission,
oft he uranium and thorium nuclei is now indisputably using ultuninium absorbers to m odify the energ y of
established, [Link] m n.y bo turned to tho possible tho boam a nd a [Link] disposition of diaphragms
cll"ic:aey of other bombarding particles in t his rosp<~ !'. (; . to protect tho collector against deuterons scattered
An outline is hero proson tocl of ovidonco s nggos~i ng from the a bsorbers . Tho threshold for tho process
thnt high-energy deuterons are, in fact, capable of appo:[Link] to lie o.t a bout 8 'Jfv., and tho cross -sectio n
producing {'L~s i on in uranium. incroMcs [Link] in the [Link] 8-0 l\Iv.
Tho following oxpet·imon to.l [Link] hn.s boon The conclusions drawn from those prelimina ry
u ~<cd. Ono insiJo surface of a coppot· box is covered experiments would receive unequivocal [Link]
w ith n. 20 mgm./om. 2 layor of [Link] mot1d, a nd is from a ch omico.l identification of t he fragment nuclei
!,omhardocl by doutorons p [Link] ing through a n aperture or a clotoction of their large ionization impulses in
in [Link] opposite sido of tho box. An inside pocket; un ionization [Link]. It might also provo profit.
011 ono of tho other walls contains mota! foils for tho nblo to oxmnino t ho effects given by others of tho
pmposo of collecting particles p t·ojoctod from tho [Link] ol omont.s (ospocially thorium).
ll\l'get t hrough an a por turo in tho pocket. A thickness Dt·. It. S . Krishn:1.n and [Link] [Link] of the
of 2 mm. S .P. a lmninium is [Link] presen t to protect Cavendis h cyclo ~ro n group h:wo rondored m o indifl-
[Link] collecting foi l from tho lo\v-enorgy product.~ duo pensablo [Link], nnd I am indebted also to Prof.
to mechanical disintegration of tho ;,n.r0 ot. Bombard- .T. D. Coclwroft for portinont suggestions• .
ment-s of about l(Lainp. for ton minu tes a ro convenient,
Cnvondish L aboratory, D. H . T. G .I.N'r.
l
and nro found to produce on [Link] collector nctivitics of
intonsi t.y suitl\blo for [Link] with a. Coigcr counter. 1
It is [Link] to estimate what part of tho activitv
on tho collector is d ue to general neutron radiatio;1
Co.n.1bri dge . Aug. 26.
"·ITUJll; . 143, 8f>2 (1030), I
nnd to deuterons sca ttered frotn tho [Link]. In tho •t
pockot are [Link] three foils of 3 ·3 mgm./om. • Absorption of Polymolccular Fi lms in the Infra-Red
aluminium, F, D nnd N in ordet• of prox im ity to tho THE use of infm-red [Link] spectra as a moo.n"
tnrgot, and a s ingle thickness of half-mi llimotro of investigating moloculo.r structw·e ha.s still to bo II
copp"r shoot botweon tho foils D a nd N . Fivo minutes oxLendcd to surftLCO fi hns. Until very rocontly, the I

l
[Link] a 4 · [Link].{min. [Link] with !) l\iv. possibi lit ies of this extension seemed remote, since a
doutorons, it is found thn.t tho neutron effect of tho m onom olocular layet· d ocs not contain enough mole -
[Link] hn.s produced in N o. sm [Link] activi ty of cnlos por sqnaro cont imotro to produce [Link]
·10 cotmts por minute ; t ho neutron affect is [Link] [Link]. Thus it is found experimentally that
from D and Jl' simply by subtraction of this N offoct. approximately 10 10 molecules are required to
D's activity [Link] tho [Link] effect produce appt·ociablo absorpt ion inn. beam of l sq. em.
and is initi1>lly a bout l 00 counts por minute, dccn.y- cross-section, whereas the numbot· of molecules per
ing with a h alf-lifo of 2·3 min. to reach n. negligibly [Link] contimetro in a monomolecular layer is about
smnll value after 20 min. F 's a ctivity, howovor, is 5 x 10 14 • 'With tho pt·oduction of polymoloculo.r
11bout I ,500 counts por min ., and is much longet·- films close to I ,000 molecules thick, tho possibility
livod, al though with a target entirely of load, z,• o.s of clotocting absorption still soomod slight, but
well o.s D shows o nly a D offoct. technically fcasiblo, if a method employing sevorn.l
T ho doco.y cnrvo for F's [Link] ity ho.s boon followed rofloctions through such a. film woro employed.
fot• about 7 hours a nd has boon compared with that As [\, mat.to1· of interest, it wn.s decided to try
[Link] from Frisch's formu la 1 for tho doco.y of whothet· any [Link]·ption could be do toctod using u
multiplex activity. Tho m [Link] of agreement is so single t·of\[Link] through a. film of methyl [Link]
[Link] n.s to preclude tho poss ibility of a merely 700 moloculos thick, [Link] o n a [Link]
nccidontal coincidence. strip of mota!. Vvo were surprised to fi nd that tho
A sbtck of s ix O·Gli tngm. /cm. • tlluminium foi lR woll-known abso rption n.t 3 ·3 11- d tw to CH groups
lui.S boon p laced in tho p ockot. and aftor tho [Link] of W<l.s [Link] [Link], showing abou t 30 per cent
30 minu tes (when the D offoct has decayed) tho [Link], while otltot· weaker bands woro noticeo.bl0
activities are found to docro11so regulal'ly through the [Link] 6 iL [Link] 10 il-· Next, a film only 200 mole-
sl::tck. reaching inappreciably small vnluos in thu cules thick was tt'iod. This still grwo tho 3·3 ;L [Link]
!lfth and sixth foils. [Link] [Link] [Link], tho with [Link] intensity. T hose ;·[Link].s mu<\11 ~ho.t
r,,ct Llmt replacement of aluminium u.s tho collector absorption spectra woro being obtttinocl from ap-
mnterial by silver [Link] no significant d ifference in pt·[Link] 10 17 moloculos, instoa.d of tho customat·y
the decay curvo, suggests that the activity has beon 10'"· In othor w ords, tho r.L.;orption coelftcicnt of a
implanted [Link]· thn.n induced. The evidence thus moloculo in the infrn.-red sooms to bo [Link]
[Link] t h o.t radioactive nuclei nro projected from incrcnsod whon it is in n surface film.
tho [Link] tnrgot with a rango of tho orclm· of Tho possible crtusos of this will not bo d iscus,;od
2 em. ; t.h is occun·onco is ovidontly to uo ascribed horu. Tho purpose of this n oto is m oroly to record
to o. fission of tl,n umni um nucleus. this facL, which opons up a now and potentially
It is important. to [Link] the mngnitudo of tho intoros [Link] fiold of research in inft·a.-rod spectroscopy
fission effect [Link] by buckgrotmd neutron radiation, and its applicaLion to problems of moloculo.r strueturt~.
1mtl for t his purpose [Link] has been enclosed in tho In pm-ticulo.r, this m ay provo to bo a very suitablo
pocket itself n layer of uraniun1 , separated from F m [Link] of studying protein molecules. ·
by 2 mm . S.P. of uluminiwn, and from the [Link] \ Vo wish to express ow· thanks to Dr. Stenhagon,
by [Link] copper sheet, this arrangement necessarily who [Link] the films.
reproducing fairly closely that activi ty in F which is G. 13. B . :'II. SVTHBHLA:-;'1),
,]uo to n e [Link]-inducod fiss ion. The intensity in this IV. T. TVTrE.
[Link] iii less than one twentieth of tho.t observed in [Link]·y of Physico.! Chen1:istry,
tho positive experiment. Cambridge. Sept. 1.
. . ,,, ______..__ _____ - .. --- ~----·--·--- ..

470 :\l AHCH JS, 1H39, Vo r.. 14:>

L etters to the Editor

'l'hc J~tlito r uoc8 ·1 wt h?ltl himself I'C8tJOI~~iblc for opin,:oii-Y c. ~prr:.•"crl /1!/ /, ;,5 no·I'•'"Jl'Jiillrnt·
llc co11not 1lll'lcl·tal.·c to 1'eturn, o r to correspond ·with tiu: writr:rs of, n:fr;ctrri /Wt/1.11-<c.r:_..:.,
intended f or th is or any other part of N A'J.'lJtm. ~vo not in: is tu!.·c11 vf wwn:JIIHJ1/.S rr;III/JIImicrtl irot.,.
::\OTES Ol' l'O I~TS ll' SO)II': OF TillS \\'l·:t·:t.:'s l.E'l"1'1-:HS A l'l'J·:.\It 0:" l'. 41~.

COitRI·:sl'O ~D E :-;'TS ,\ttl: T:"V!TI·:n TO r\TT,\1~ 1[ SD!rf.A it SU~D!A tt n:g TO T lll·: llt GO~D!l::-;'tG,\'l'!O:-:s.

Li;;c [Link] of Neutrons in the Nuclear Explosion of eont ,.nt. of t,ltu sohu io n can nffcct [Link] >oltt\)'CJ of th
Uranium d onRity cttrvo only in tt charac: r :ri~t i c \\'it)' : Lho mocl i
i\ ;·:C'EO'T '' xperinwnt:-; 1·' ha\·n re\'eall'd [Link] exi:-;tell('l' fiod C lll'\'C can alll'ays b o bro nght w oo:,;cido wi1
nf a ill'\\' kintl of nucl nar ro:IC't-ion : tH:HI·t'Uil h ombnnl -
tl1<' prim it j,·o cur,·o hy mnlciplyi ng all a b:;ciss:n b:
,;,:lll· of Hrn nium and t lwrillln lends to nn oxpln:;ion a s ni tn bl<' fn [Link] nnd all ordinn tcs hy another fnclot
. ,,· t lw nuclt•llS, whieh split.s up i nl.o pnr ~ic·I,•F< of
i,,:·.·ri,w cd~:1 rgo atul \\'e ig ltt , n con~itlr·mhiP n. m ou n ~
nC .•,,.,·:..:v b,•in•~ liiJera ll'd in t-hi s prot:t•ss. .·\ssumi ng
a. part-ition i1;( 0 two pitrtidcs 'on I~·, so 1 hat·, tlw
nnclcar tnns,.; and clnu·go of urnnitun h,n·,. to hr-
[Link].-d hl'l.\\'<'1'1\ t w o liglll <'r nucloi, 1 l1•' i.• i t•·r §. ::'
c:(ln ta in cun,.;icl,t·nl >h· 1110n• tH'-111rnns t-hnn t h" 11<';1\·i··:-,t.
.-:nhk i:-;o iOJh'" witi1 tho ,.;lt\111\ nul'f,•n t· <:h ill')!\',;, (,\_
splitting int o , fnt' exnmplu, ••H.h nn<l 1'11 ( ',.; ·m.:nns an
o xcess o f II JHJLL tnms in t ho li n;t, ;md of :-; n nu tro ns
('
I
in r.h o ;;<'co n<! of t lwsn :wo nllclci.) Th··1·n scum t,o
ho two p o:-;[Link]'S o f go t.t-ing rid of t-l1is tl<' lltron
oxc.1.~s. By [Link] omis!;ion of n f1 ·m~· , a tll'lll·t·on i,-
[Link]'llled in to n. proton, t-l111>; n:dur:i ng [Link] [Link]
nxct~s;; hy [Link] nnits; in t-ho c'xa mplo gi,·,,n [Link]\'< '.
li\'<1 and fOlll' SllCeosSii'O f~·:1CI i\· i('.in;; r n:-;pt'd'ii'OI,I·
,,·oulrl bo n eeded t.o rl';;l OI'O [Link] nnutro n·proton
stn.b iJit.y m t io . ln. f1tet, the oxplosiOI\ J'I'Ocllld» ]Ht\'0
h c·Pn ohSI'I'\'CU to ho 13-nr:t,i,·o nnd ,..,.,... ,·itl p eriods
hnxo ll<'C'll t'c•corded, so t hnt, a pati, :tl· lt•nst-. of thu r
n ontron t·xct•s:< is [Link] d ispos••d o f in t Itis way.
.\noLhor p ossihln p rocr>..''' i:; t-h o dircr:t lilwml ion of 10 20 !!:, I'll
_·. ,Ammon ium nitrate C . C ra nylni•mto
n ont-rons, t nking pl:H'o oi : ll<'l' a;; it pnrt. of t.h o c·xplosinr\
it self, or ns nil '[Link]' from t.l:o rcs ul t;ing nuol<' i T lw necotn}Mnying gt•aph sltow,; [Link] t w o C\11'1'<·
which would bo formed in u n <•xcit·t·cl [Link]. vblninc:tl. .·U smnll clistnnocR f rnm tho !;Olii'CO tiJ,
I n onlor to fin<l somo o\·iden eo of [Link] s.:conrl n eut-ron d ow;ity is ~ rPnt cr in tho illnmonium ,;olutin1
phnno m rmon, w o s [Link] [Link] don:;it.y d i;;t rihnt ion of [Link] in· t h o urnnyl ;;olntion ; at dist ance·,; g reat••
1 ho thennn l [Link] JWOduC'cd by [Link] sl owing down [Link] l:l em ., U10 J'C\' I' l'S O is ! t'LH'. J n otltc·r ,,·onl,
o[pltoLO·I10.\I [Link] ft·om n. Rn y - Bosout'C'U in a I ·ti molnr t,hc cleorna::<o of t·.] u, nPtltron ch•nsity with t )l,, di.<lll llh
solu [Link] n of Ht'llll\'l ni t.n\.t Cl n nd inn. l· (i m olu.r solution is :1pprecinhly ~:owe r in tho umny l Rolu tion .
<Jf ;111\lllOllillm 'ni tnt h' (tho hydrogen cont<'nts of Th o oh:<<~ rvccl d iftcl'<'nco m11st. bo nscrihed to tlu
t he;;o 1.1\·o sohtt ions diffl' t' by o nly 2]WI' C'l'll&). l'[Link]~ prr•s,·nr.e r)f 111'1111ium. Siner: tlw h\·o cun·t·s Ci;llll'•'
lr' ns it [Link] of,. (wh om?' is [Link]\ di;;innco IJ .. twecn ho' i >rollght. t.o coineido h _,. tho transfol'ln:l! ;,,,
[Link] s0\1\'Cil niH! 1t given point, nntl I i:; I Ito local clens it ~· lo .. ·n [Link].:ll nhon• . the urnnium nuclei d o not net. l11
1Jf t-h er ma l n eutrons nt. t-h o "'1rno p oint, mPnsurC"d b~· c:npt.m·o• only ; nn dflstic di fi'tt~ ion h~· nr;:nitnn. tlllcl.:
t-ho a cciv i ty i nd uc~cl in n d y.~prosi n m d ctPctor ), :t w o uld han; n n opposite• pffc!'t- : ic ,,·ou ld 'ctllot!'llrl
r:nt'\'o is ohtai norl tho a rea o f wl1ich is propo rt ionn l to [Link] ,, hscissn.:, inst. ·nr: n f s rrelclting thr·m. The d1:n,i•.1
<J.-r, CJ hl'ing t-ltn number of ll('lll-i'On;; pC'r seco nd nxces,:;, shown by t,hc nrnnyl Clll'\'l' 1>•·.\··>ld 13 m11.
omitt.C'rl h\' 1-ho souroo o r fol'll)('cl in Lht· solution nn<l must thc roforo bo con..•idorcd ns n prvof of nealt'nl
• tl:n n w;111 [Link] a [Link] n :-:ponds in t ],,. f:oh:tion prorlnotion clur• to nn i ntc rnction hl't\\·ocn tho pritll•ll .'
IH•fvro hning onpturcrl'•1. Any additionnl nnclt•i, n [Link] nnd tho uranium nudci. A roa<'t ion uf 1i,.
whir:lt do nn l. prorluco noutron:;, bro11gltt in to tho \l't'll·kl tnwn (11 . 21 ~ ) r-ypo i,- oxcital.·d ln••·.[Link]~c ""'
[Link], wii l it\CL'l!th'<O tho dH111 Cr.~ of cnptuw nn<l pr imary nonl rons n1·o too :<l ow for >-nch it rcnctin•
I hnrefoi'O d oc:ron se 't' ""'1 t-h u :.won.. If, however, tho,.;n (UO p e r c1 ·n t of H.n. + He pltoto- n C'LLI rons ]:a ,., t' ll o r~i· ·,
dissolver! nn cle i [Link] llt:1llron-pt·odncing, Q ,,·ill lm smnllm· t·hnn 0 ·5 :.\[m·. nnd t hC' t'l'rnninin):: 1<1 per C<'l li
[Link]' anrl [Link] t1 1'<'tt of [Link] cn r1·\J will [Link] to in<"rea>;c. [Link] slo11·or thn n 1 ) fo,·. ). : ·
Jo:,·idc twu of tH'Ut1·on [Link], n;; [Link] by nn The d ogrco of pn·cision of ; l.o· ··xporimont do.::; n··'
nct-unl incrC'nsc of [Link] n rea , will only h o obtninocl if permit )t.~ t.o n t tribnt o any s i;;nifit•nnco to tho ,m.•l:
[Link] gni n t hro11gh (J (neutron production) is greate r incrN1so of tho oren. in tho nrnnyl c:un ·o (ns compr.r·· :
than l-Ito loss through • (neutron [Link]). This loss t o t hn nmntonium c:mT c) , ,,·[Link] ' "0 obtain by cx; r..
can nnywny ho f; Ludictl sopnrntoly, s inco ic has b oc·n pol:tt in:; t-ltc cnn'c·.:; t011'<1nls grC't1ter dist:mc:cs. J,,
:;hown• thnt tho inr rocluction of nucloi \\'hich net. nny c:\·cnt, an inf01·ior limit for the cross-srct-ion (.. :
mo:roly hy ClljJl nrc or hy incr<'ns ing t-he hyclrogon t-lto production of n. 11C'llt r on cn n he ohtnincd ''·'
 • •

:\o. :1620, 1\lA i{Cll 1~. Hl39

<,uming [Link] [Link] d,·n~ic~· <1Xccss duo to this pro- (:cigcr·:.\liiJler ClJlllll<' l'
wiJ.h nlltlll ill illlll wa} J:; of
[Link] i:; <'<[ll:tl throu;.;hout l h.; "·hole cm·vo t.o thr 0·1 nun. tlth;kncss. \Vc found a wdl-mcn;;urnblc
XC•'-"'S obs<'n·lld nt ?' =, :!.) ern. ; this limit., CC' rt n inl~· nrt i,·ity \\·J,ich d ocrLycd !ir><t qu ickly (about Lwo
,f,·riot· t.o tho nctunl valu0, is G X IQ-'• em.'. minutes l1alf-Ynl11,, JlC'riocl) and then more slowly.
Our mcn~nr<'mC'n(:; vield n o information on th•· ::\o n tt<'mpt W1\S mnd•: to :tnn l~·,.;o tho slow rlc·cn.y in
w·rgy of [Link] nontron~ produc0d. If, nmong t hc!<o ,·iow of tllC' largo n\lnth(· r of pC'riods to 1)(· cxp'Jckcl .
<·ut rons, some posse•>:;; n n energy :;n]wrior to 2 :.\ ro,·., The e;ons iclo •r,,i;] c inhmsit .~·, ho,,·c,·er, of Lhc·
llo' might hopn to detnct [Link] by a (n,J;) process, collect (·.! net i,·it.y C'ncoura~otl u,; t.o t ry t.o get. f10 r1 Lcr
or C'Xnmplc, b~· tho 32S(u 1-p)"r n·[Link]. ,\n cxpni· [Link] by cltemieal sepnrnt ions. T h» s:...) esl
>L' Il t of [Link] kind , Ha y • He still b,,ing ttscd n.s the· t'X]It•rimC'nt w ns lo apply [Link] t:homie·•tlllwLhods whieJ,
orimnry neutron source, i,.; under wny. ltavo huon d o\'C:lopod in order to scpamt.o tho
The int0rcst of [Link] phcnomC'non ohsotTod n,.; a slup 'trnnsurnninm' olc mcnts from uranium and olemcnt.s
oward:=; [Link] proehwiion of [Link] t mn;;mutn- immcd [Link] below it•. 'l'ho m ethods h ad tu bo
iott chn in,.; is o,·id onL. Howon•r, in order to ost~'[Link] slightly modi ficd on account of tho [Link] o:
nt·h a. clto in, moro t h nn ono [Link] must ho p ro- urunium in our r;;tmplcs nnd in Yiow of tho l ight
lo;~cd for [Link] n t•Ul·l'•lll·nh"orhcd. Th is ~t·cms to bo tho dement ncth·itics discovered by Ha.l m and [Link]·
asr, since t.h., Ct'OSS·SC'cLion fu •· !.ho [Link] n of a mnnn 1 •
10utron scPtnS to bo greater ilu1n tho cross-section for
h,, production of nn explos ion. Experiments wit·.h
9
olutions of Ynryi• •l; [Link] will gi,·o infot·mn-
inn on thi~ C]ll<'~tion.
H . YOX .1-lAL llAJ\', ,JI':'\.
F . .Tor-JOT.
L . KOWAHSKI.
\
.ahoratoirc clo Chimiu Kucl•\1iro,
Collcgo de Fmn('o,
Pnris.
:.\Inn·h f.: •
.loliut, 1'., G'./1., 208, 041 ( w::tJ).
Fri<ch, 0. Jl., 1\,ITt.:Hr:. H3. 27G (lll:;n) .
.llllahli, E ., nwl F~rmi, K. Phl/1. 11""· SO, llllfl (1 !l:lr.).
I .\lil:lldi, };. , llnf~t:ul, J,. , aml l'll\*C, IlL, ]Jhyl . J(tiJ., 51, son (Jo::f).
1 Fri:-::ch. 0. R., v ,1n H:alhan , jnn., JJ., nnd 1\orh, .T., Dand·f: l'irlru~knb. In tlH·:<c expor imunt.,.;, t.l te colloc t. in~ Sttrfaco wn,.;
1\ab., 15, lU (l!J:JS) . . wa ter, ctptt [Link]<l in n ~ ltnllow l·rough of [Link] wax.
:\ftot· i n'atl ia t ion (of 1Lbou t one hom) n. small sample
of the WtLtcr wn ,; [Link]( l on n. piece of aluminium
Products of the Fission of the Uranium Nucleus foil · its nut i1·i lv wns fennel t.o de en,. to 1.m·o .
0. Hahn and F. :::itmssnwnn 1 lt<l\'O discovcro(l n It ,;·as chcck(•d ·in oi hn [Link] , too, [Link]'t the wn.tc1·
'"'". [Link] of nuclear [Link], tho [Link] int.o two was not contaminated bv 111'nttium. To tho rest. of
'lllnllcr nucl•·i of tho nuclei of umninm a nd thorium the watC'r we added I :30 mgm. barium chloride.
11ncl•·r ncutt·on bombardment. 'l'IJ11s they d C'mOII· l ii tn"m. lanthanum nitrnt.· .· J 5 mgm. ,[Link]
,,rntctl t ho prodttcLion ofmteloi [Link], h111Llwnum, cltlorido nnd enough hyclrocltlnric acid to got nn acid
·lr,.[Link], [Link]. und, mot·r r ecently , of xenon and conccnLn'[Link] of 7 pot· cent.. Tlwn the [Link] ,,·;:s
~ -. ,·.:;iurn. precipi tated [Link] h~·drogen :;ulphidc, in tho nsnn!
Tt. rnn be ,.;JuJ\1'11 hy ~< itnpk eons idcrnt ions that this wny ; [Link] p reciJ1itato wns cnr0fully rin;;c(l nnd d rir·cl
,_,·pn of nuclear rc·[Link] ll1u.y ho dl':;cribod in an nnd then placed n onr our count er.
·······ntially clnssieal wn~- liko [Link] fissi on of n liquicl Tho results of th rco Slt('h cxporitnC'nt.<; were found
·!nlp, [Link] tlmt tl111 fi~siun pt·otlttds must. fly [Link] to bn in nm tunlng l't•rment.. Tho dcca.y of the ncti,·i ty
"'it!, kinetic c n o rgi o.~ of [Link] order of lnntdnxl m illion wn:; in one <:nso followed for 2S honr,.;. For compMison.
,.J,·ct ron-Yolls C'ach •. E,·idC'nC'c for thC'so hi~h c twt·giC'!\ n. sample of u ranium itTt\(l iatecl fot· ono ]10111' was
"'""fi rst gi\'C•n .],y 0. ll. l:'ri~ch" and nlnlO>:it !;innll- tn·ntcd clwmic·ally in [Link] snmo way. Tho two d(•cn~·
:•HH'Otl>'ly by n tllllnbm· of [Link]••· inY<'~tignt-or!\'1 . cul'\·cs we•n• in perfect [Link]·ccmcnt with ono [Link] r
Tho possibilit.y of making uso of tlH·><o high <'norgi ..~< nne! with an vld CUI'\'(' obtained lJ V Hnhn, :.\h:itnm·
in order to collect the fi;;::;ion l;rotln<'l H in tl1o sn,tw: antl ::ilrn!:'Silltlllll undOl' t.h o Sl\tno [Link]. Jn tlw
'" IY ns one collr-cts rh.· nc;t.i,·n dC'po,;it from nlphn- accomp;mying diagr;1m Ll 1o circks rC'prescnt onr r.·coil
.,,,·oil has brcn pointrd ... 1L by L. ::\leimN· (soo ref. :l ). t>Xp<' rimC'n& wltilo tho full linn t·cprcscn ts thp,1u·a ttium
In tho meantime'. J:' . •Joliet hn~< inclepC'nclc•nt·. ly mad•· [Link]. A compnt·ison of tl1n a ctivi ty ([Link] tlw
··xprrimC'nts of tl1i;; t~' Jle". \Vc ha.\·o now c·1trri••<l 0111 !ir4 how· nftcr [Link]) of the precipitate [Link]<l of
"'"'0 "xperinwnl,.;. u;<ing [Link] rocrnt ly complcl C'<l higlt· tho o\·[Link] sampl,l ,..;IOwc•d [Link] the prC'l'ij:.it:tto .
io'nsion rquipnwn t. nf tlu• Imd [Link].o of TIH•coret ical eontaitwcl about. two th ird,; of [Link] to tal ncti,·ity.
i'loysics. CopC'nhagon . eol lecLC'd in t llo W;l ier. Aftvr ahont t wn hour~.
.\ thin b~·e·r of \lJ';tnium hydruxid, ·, plncl'd nt. :\ howu\·cr, tho 0\'<1j)OJ'a(ed ~<•[Link] wns :·, ,nnd to
i.-1ance of 1 mm . from n oollcct ing s urface , war; d ccny eonsidcmbly m oro slowly thnn tho pn•e ip it <ltt•,
•'\ ]'O~C'd to lll'[Link] boml..,;rdmcnt. The n eutrons prosumnbl~' on ncc:ount of tho moro long- lin~d fiss ion
··"·rc jJroduccd by bombarding lithium OJ' beryllium products found by Hnhn [Link] Strnssm:tnn 1 •
'·'~"~,..,~ with clcuteronr; of ('nC'rgie•s 11p ; o t;l)!l kilo,·olts. From tlt('SC l'C!; ttlr~. it ran bo concl utll'( l that
Ia tl.e 1irst e:\-pcrimC'nt~. 1L pit'<'<' nf p:1pC'r wn:; us,•d tllo 'trnn:;tlr;1ninm' nu clei ori:-:innt c b ~· (];;:;ion of i-IH·
\ < n cnlll'cting surfncC' (uftor making suru thnt. th(• umnium nucl c·us . :.\I,' ro cnplurl' of o. neut ron would
:'·'!"'r did no t. got. a cti,·o b y it:;;clf undc·r nontron ,,i,.,. so littlu kinet ic vth'l').!\' to tlH) nucleus thn t onh·
:.. 11nhnrdment). .-\bout two minutes a fter intC'r· ; nm ishin!; fra ction of [Link] n ucld could reach tl{c·
·'!':in::; the irrndiativn . t he pape r wns plnC'r·d nC'nt· 11 w<\tl•l' snrfn C'c. ~o it nppcnrs that lite 'trnnsnrnnium'
 I ~ ••

I 1

I
I
u
1 SU-PPLEiviENT
!,
,
·I=========================================================:
vI 143 0 0 SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1939

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

'l'hc fJ,[it"r doc.~ n ot hold hitl~self ?'esponsible for opinions [Link] by his correspondents.
i!.; cflnno/. undertake to rctu1·n, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected mannscripl8
inlcmlcrl for this or any other 11art of NATURe:. N o notice is taken of anonymous communications .
l\'OTES OK l'OlNTS IK 50~11': OF THI S \VEEK's· LE1."1'ERS ,\ Pl'EAR A'l' P. Hll.

NUCLEAR PHYSICS
C o ntrol of the Chain Reaction involved in Fission the h•Jnji('I'IILurc of t ho syst<-m (since ,;( will in pr..t o ti ~.:o
of the Uranium Nucleus 1~!' "mnll and since• it clop uncl,.; in t ho firs t place on Lite;
IT l"'s r•·•·•·nt h' hcon sho\\'n thut th,; munbt"r' of clistanc•J n!'cc•ssm-y for slowing do·.,·n Lho neutron;
Jll·tt trons lih(ll'< lt:o,t• in [Link] nuclea r fi;;sion of a tlw tt•mpc•r;l lnre has, of ('Ourso, an e ffect, ((.!though
lll'llllilllll llll<'I<'US j,; ;;ufli<"i(>JlL!y high to Jn<lk• l the it will b1• \'t•ry smn ll ).
r.·nlizat i<lll 11f a ,.,.Jf-p,•rpNn<lting reaction chain >'e cm Lc·t It:<, IW\1'0\'CJ', intrud liCO <In a bsorbe n t , snch as
•' l'"""ib!,,, 'l'h u da ngnt' t h:u a ;;ystcm contain ing cndminm, t lllJ cross-section o f which does n ot clopc nd
unlllilllll in high [Link]~ion might explode, onc<' o n tho nouLron onorgy in tho thormal region . \\'u
l-lu: chnin is sLartc·d, is consiclc rablo. IL is tlwrcforo willluwo, insh•ad o f (1),
11.-wful t.o poin t, out. n. llHJcha nism which gi \·os t·ho " =
l'"''"ihilit.y o f coni l'OIIing [Link] dovolopmont of such a. V 'I -l,- AJ
( J - r(),,- (4-)
1C .r I~
<;haiti. " ·huw A' i,; thu sum of t\ 11 .tli's following [Link] l fv la w
\\'n fo nn nn uxprossion which is chnractoristic for ;l nd A" is n. Gon,;ta n t, tho tor m duo to ti1o nowly
tl•n ht•l11n·iour o f ilw eh11i n : nrJd,•cl absorbe nt. v" will now d [Link] with incruas ing
.' If t ompornturo. At a t empomturo, wh ich will be c lnw nc-
vH
= ;r-v( I. - (.(), (1 )
tc·ris t ic for [Link] composition aml tho goomotricnl
.·i f ho·ing [Link] product of tho CJ'oss-;;cction for nuclear conslt1 n ts of tho [Link], ,,"will boc:omo smn llcr th nn
·ti:<.~i"n fur a IIH'I'Innl nc·[Link] n oft hf' uranium nucious unity nncl tho sy:;tom will stahili;r.e it-self so mnwhr ro
with llu, C'OIII'PIII r;tl-ion of 1 h,• nrnnium; Ai [Link] near this t ompornLurc; t ho equilibrium be ing d ot or-
I'~'"' luc:L of t ht> ul>[Link] e ro>:><·>'<JCI ion fo t· thorma l minccl h_v [Link] fac t [Link] t ho amoun t of ene rgy g i,ro..:n
t11·11 l ron;; of [Link] nm:lt•IJs o f kin d 1: [Link] i•·cl w it.h its out pl'r u n it oftimo by tho s ys tom (in tho form of hcnt
~:·•n•· · · •tiJ';Itinn; .·1 t he f<llm of all Ai's, whioh is to and nuc· lo<W mdintion) is oqu nl to t he ene rgy pro -
1..· '"I"'" o v,•r nil kinds of nucki prcl'iont in lhu thwc·c! hy Lho systl'm . :::iimilat• [Link] hn\·o bovn
'""1111 io n ; v is [Link] a\·ot·agp n umhor o f no11trons cliscuss,·d hv F . ]'c)J'I'in".
lih,•J'IIil'd in on" (i,-..-ion, a ·t.h!' 1\\"0 I'IIge probnhilit~· Adder/ i n i>m()J : In tho caso o f ·~ chain p ropag ating
f,,J. n I HHII ron to d ifTnso out of Lho system bc foru itst•lf ll\· LIIC'rmal tw n t ron;;, th o timo n('ccss;u·v for t ho
·IJ,•ing ahsorhod. slowing clown [Link] fen· t,lw a bsot·[Link] of <t nou L;·on, thaL
Tit~• ('twrgy lil>t•rntc<.l by Lhc chnin will be is, i ~s nwa.n life, i<; of tho ortlot· of 10-• sec. If nno
makC's ,," ns small ns 1007, it neccls 100 t ime;; r. ho
{2) mt·•m lifo of o. n t·ut ,·nn 0 1.· about 10-• sec . to douhl<l
F "·' ing 1.1,., ('lll'rgy lihc ml!'d in one fissi o n nncl N tlw 111111101'1' of Jlo.·Htrons, nn<.l wit h [Link] t t lw Pno'rg~·
thi• JIIJ1nh,11· o f fissions prochtc·c'd hy tho ch11in. \\'o libt'ra l,·cl por nni t of t ime. It is t h!.'r.:-foro possible
l1a \'" to [Link] ~;ho dc·velopmcnt of tho clw.i.n b~· <\ pMio1licn l
.(3) int!'rn ct io n o f absorb<' I'" which b m ak up the chn ins h,,.
!-
Tht• ehain gi\·c·s t·hns 1t CJIIillltity o f on.1rg ,\·, which
is illc ro;lsing rapidly wit.h time , if v" is grc:ttor than 1.
J...t, u..- c.:onsidl't' [Link] c·n~e of n chain which is duo
l•l li"><ion prochtc!'cl by th('rmal neutrons ; that
i". a cd1n in [Link] ifsc:lf in n. sy.~t-cm conta [Link]
Clll •'r.: .:.; tho system.

Lnhol'il Lo iro c1c C'himie Xuclcniro.

1
Collugo rlo [Link], Par i~ .
j_i', A nLER.
H. vo:-..- HALilA1', Jv!\.

\'On JTalhan, jun., H., .To liot, F., and K owan;ki, L., XA'l'URE, 143,
r
'
I

I
-· ;-;nlliciun t·, hydrogen for tho slowing down of the ~ 70 (10 ~!1) .
' YOn Tl:..lh;\1\, jun .. 1f. . .Toliot , !i"., and Kowar:ild, T1., X .\7liRF., 1~3,
lll'lliron~.
1f Lho erO>'S·sl'clions fot' [Link]·u Ot' fission of all
n.~o ( l!l:al). ltobr rt.<, Jt., )(C)'or . Jt, n 111l \\'an!:, 1'., /' /.;:.<, J:r.•·.,
55. :,10 (]030). H.l~ m t y, C., and lto.-;onbcrc.: . .-\. , [Link]., ~OS. ~~s
I
I
(IO:l !l). S>.ibr<l nnu ~inn (pri\'atc communica~lon). Uul>cr nnd
·nllclt•i prl•:<nnt follow tho I fv ln.w, v" will not clopond
()n the voloci r.y of the [Link] ancl thN·eforo no t o n
(pri,·ato communic.'\tion).
nuht;n;.:~ r
• Prrrin, l'., a.u., in the Press. I
!
 :\o. 36:11, Jmm 3, !939 ~ATURE 939
,\ suri.·:; of oxporirncnt;s with varying number of The first rnotl<ocl having s ho\\'n us tha.o [Link] sc conc.l-
'·
o:-rnys Jl<'r c.c. [Link] tho following figures. a t·y neutrons [Link] product•d with energies of at lc?s t
2 l\Iov. (sufllciont to trans form ••S into radioact•vo
I T'mc of I I L c!c, I1 30 P in d ctcctahlo [Link]), wo sought to asccr~ ~·•a,

l,••; ,,.· tio n .

I ·;;, :~.;,., I
!
I
I
l'
from
cquntion (2)
I Experimental
. - -- - ·-
J 'l'hcorcticnl
valnes from
I by tho second m othorl , ,,·[Link] nontrons of ~norgy
[Link] higher than 2 Mev . aro ~l so present m the
J dl!le [Link] equatio n (1)

--c-.-s-1
~-0
4·1
o·n >< 10"
1·0 "
~-3 ..
I o·o7
0·1·1
u·2G I
1 u·nl
0·~ ;)
o·~::
1
1

I
1
o·na
0·::>7
o·77
I second:try [Link],tion. In our oxponrnent, the oxygen-
fill ed ionization chamber was placed in a n om·!~·
cubical box (0 om. x 0 · em. x 8 em.) containing
ll·S :,.o .. u·n 0·7:! O· G;; 1 uranium oxide an<l surrounded by a thick layer of
pami'fin wax. Tho source (300 mgm . Ra·r + B e ),
In view of tho approximat ions made and tho oxpot·i- surrounded hy a load shield (5 em. in tho direction
[Link] dif'llcultios involved, tho [Link] botwoon of tho chambet') was buried in tho wo.x. In order t.o
1 ~ ; .; .~ x pc rimontally dotorminod and tho calculated absorb thcrmn.l neutrons, tho uranium box coukl b ,~
;·~: 1 ;> Lin, i•[Link] of [Link] tnolocules is soroonccl on [Link] s ides w ith a caclmium foil. Tho pulses
qnito >n! i,..factory and support~ tho assumptiot; th~t woro recorded either in tho presence or ii1 tho absence
,.,·on· ]~:. :~ n ocyn,nin tnohlculo lnt by u,n c.:-partwlo ts of this foil and [Link] [Link] of tho effect (projection of
,..plit: T l .i.-. me,[Link] [Link],t,, out of tho energy received in oxygen nuclc.i by fast neutrons liberated in tho
nny par;; ,)f tho molecule, a portion largo enough to [Link]) duo to thermal neutrons conlcl thus bo
Cilli.S• > ;, p l i ~ [Link] is tmnsforrcd to tho bond holding tho evn.l ua ted.
two ho~h-es togethN. In Yiow of the llwgo number of of [Link] pulses
As yet Wt1 hn.v,, no t [Link] out mcasnrum onts of due t o t·ho s! rong ·r-radi:Hion omitted by tho source,
t ho nbsoluto number of [Link]-violot light quan t n. only nuclei ~·,J:·o iling wit.h :1t least 1·5 :'>rev. could
nc:ivc in this splitting, but tho [Link] of be taken in t o considc:ration . Tho distribution
tPmJWrntn ro points to a qun,ntum yicl<1 of unity. I~ curvo sh ows t.J~ n t tho frequency of pulses
j,- of intl'rc:st t o nota that f1·om stuclie.-; ot' [Link] [Link] obsctTcd fnlls o~r ;·,-..pidly between 1·5 l\Iov. and
of various rays on tho [Link] r a te, io h ns been 2·5 :!lie\'.; b [Link] 2 · 5 ?1-Icv. and 3·7 l\Iov. tho
infenod that the production of a ~in gl o ion pair within frequency docr·onsos much mot·o slowly, pulses
a sonsil;ivo s pot of tho cell, probably tho gone, pro- observed in (.his second r,1gion boi n.g, howovor, very
<iuco;; [Link] 3 • Thoro seems to be a [Link] [Link] y rare. T ho [Link] numbot· of p ulses rocorclccl i.~
hetwccn t;his finding and our results. sm1~ll (with cadmium : 84 pulses in 00 minutes ;
Tho diffe ren t b ehaviour of h::cmocyanin on ono without [Link]: lGl ' pulses in !lO minutoH); but
hnnd and lucmoglobin and sernm a lbumin on tho it appears cl0arly t;lmt recoils with energy of abont
other S<'oms to us to be of considcrablo impo rtance. 2·5 l\iov . [Link] n o tr~bl y rnoro frequ ent in tho a bsence
n shows [Link] tho former m oloculo is easily diss ociated of cadmium and, thoroforo, that ncut1·ons ][Link]
hy absorption of energy while t ho latter one;; :uo em energ !J of at least ll ::'IIev. [Link] li bcratccl in uraniwn
very stable a gainst a rais ing of tho onorg y-loYols so i1·[Link] with thermal n cutTons .
long as secondary chemical reactions aro excluclecl. Tho hig h en erg y of those fast neutrons shows that
THE SvEDmmc. thoir p aren t nuclei nro in a hig hly excited s t a te a.t
SvgN 13ItOHUL'r. t h o moment of their l ibcmt ion, which, is probably
[Link] of Physical Chemistry, [Link] wit h tho fission . In this way n. non-
The University, no~ligible fmc t ion of tho fission on erg y is disposed of;
Uppsala. a further fraction is carrie<l off b y tho f-- a:1d y-mys
Apri l 2S. a fterwards omitted by tho nuclei produc(:cl in the
I S\'OI!hr rg, T ., :~nd Brohult., s., X AT U il;~. 142, s:~o (1038 ). fission. Tho remainder available as kinet ic oncrg.v
' S::mi~nr. E. n., Krcjci, L. E., [Link] Kraemer, E. 0., Biocht:m. J. fot· thoso reco iling nuclei is therefore [Link]
33, 1 (11)39).
' Cf. Stubl>c, 11., "[Link]", 3~ 7 (Berlin, 1938). s maller than tho tota l amount of energy liberated in
tho fission process (about 200 ::'lfev.).
H . V ON HALDAN, JlTN.
Energy of Neutrons liberated in the Nuclear Fission F . J oLroT.
of Uranium induced by T hermal Neutrons L. KowARSKr.
Laboratoirc do Chimio Xncleairo,
IT hns boen shown th<t t f ast neutrons arc liberated College do Fmnce,
in tho process of nnclc:nr fis s ion induced in [Link] P o-..ris .
b.v primary th crwal ne utro ns . Two di ffe rent m ethods
:\lay 20.
of det ect ion have bc(·n u sed : in tl:o first m ethod 1,
t·ho primary and (if any ) seconda ry n eutrons m·o ' Do(l1L ) £.. vo n lfalban , jun., II., Joliot, F., antl 1\:ownr::-;ki, I •. , C.R .,
203, on;; ( t n:~~1 ).
absorbed in a medium in w hich a n endo-cn<'rgotic • Szilard , JJ., ami Zinn, \\". , Pltm;. Rev ., 55, 790 (1039).
rea [Link] cn.n t.a ko place , loading t o t ho form atio n of
an eas ily' clotcctablo radioac tive nucleus. If tho
onurgy t hrcshokl is [Link] abovo tho maximum
c·Jw rg y of the r:·[Link] noukons , any pos itive results Homom ctric Structures
observed must he as cribed to t he sccon<bry n uu t l'Ons . IN connoxion with a. recen t discu ssion• ·of tlh'
In tho second m ethod ' , ola.<:;tio collis ions of fas t q uestion of th o uniqueness of a n X -ray crysta l
neutrons wit.h h eavier nu clei [Link] observed by m eans a na lys is , P 1·of. Linus Prmling has cliroct cd my atten-
of an [Link] chounbm· fill ed wit h n. gas a t atmo- t ion t o a curious property of t h e point posit ion'
sphcl'ic pr<'f'Ri li'C and eo nnPctccl to n linem· [Link]. T~t 1 - I a3 - 24(d ). Pauling and ::\ ha ppe!P have
In onk;· 10 s t udy sepn1·ntoly t h o effect clue to t h o shown th a t t.h i.s point p os [Link], \\'hich im·oh·es a.
prim a ry t hermal n 0utro ns , the experimen t is per- s ingle [Link] u, h as a structu re factot· w·hich is
formed with, and wi t hout., a cadmium shield b ctwoon 1'\ '0!l in u , while param eter values + n a nd - u
tho source nne! tho uranium m ass . correspond to th o structures which [Link]: n ot ic:cnt ical
 ~ (xf IY- ---· --- ,

4G NATURE jULY 1, 1939, VoL. 144

t.c n lpc [Link]"s below I ho c [Link] · rn11go, tL t..;!~-~~~~.....nrron occ:urs. T he [Link] wi t h which
st [Link],.; prochH'r~d in stool,.; o f diff'nront [Link] hns boon [Link] indicnt,o, however,
con ton f. ('no loci n t. d if'foron t [Link] or [Link] t o t.r:: ns- [Link] t ntnil formn.t io n m a y also
form nt. dif'foront. co n,.;t nnt. sn b ·c [Link].l t ompOl'•lLnrcs. proccccl to som e extent during cont,inuous eooli n;.; at
f'in eo tho im·ostig11 t ions of ))ojonn in I !J 17 [Link] cer [Link] rates . Thus by cooling steels n.t progrc:;sivcly
]'or; P\'in in I !J I !l, it h ns been known [Link] 1\ progrcssi\'C• incrcm:ing rn t o,.;, th ree ldncls of ch:mgos m•ty bo
inrronso in tho [Link] of eooling result s in t,hc first place [Link], nnrnc ly, t ho normn.l, t ho intomlod iaLo and
in n. g rnchllll loweri ng of [Link] normrtl chnngos, nrHl in tho [Link] .
l·ho scrond pln eo, whon :t cot·[Link] er itico,l [Link] is By means of a m [Link] bn lnnce, [Link] pro~J rC!<~ of tho
C')(Ccerled . in [Link] rl iscon t innous d C'nro~<s i o n of the normnl and 1he intermodint.o changes nt ciiffcrcn t
chnnges ''' n. lowC'r t omperntnro nt " :hich mnrtensito [Link] tompomtn res hn.<> boon studied. This work
is fonnrd. HesC'n rchos cnrriocl ou t. si nce 1030 in [Link] has s hown 1l1a t [Link] r ate of Lho norma l austcnito-
1\:[Link] \\' ilhol m J nsL [Link].o [Link] contributccll.o lH'osont. [Link] t;e [Link] in eroascs Lo 11 max imum as
I ,
lmowlodgo about, Lho Ynrious eha nges nnrl tho [Link] t ho tcmpornturo nt which it. is caused 'to [Link];e plrtco
b ol.\H'f'n 1hem. h hn,.; hf!Pn shown , for [Link], [Link] is lowered, but furLhot· lowei·ing lends to ll diminu t ion
-.,1 011('(1 l·ho nt:e o:· cooling is "11f1iciontly ru p icl to pt·ovent in t he t·[Link] a nd it finally becomes [Link] slow. A
""~' chnn;:"" 1 nking pln cc above t he m a r tens ite cha racteristic of this c hn ngc is t hat 1\t a.!I [Link]
point., ful'l ;,, ,,. incron .~o in t.l10 [Link] of cooling docs not t horo is n period of rloln.y before it begins. At tcm-
pru.l w·f' f'11 r: ilor low.,ring of [Link] mnrtons ito chango. [Link]'OS be lo w [Link] at which . tho normn.l c hnnge
')';,.,,.. :;. J;n,, may be cln~\l'n in t he iron -cl\l·bon diagra m can [Link] plnrc• Lho intormod iato change occ urs. This
In indi· ·.. ;,· 1ho tom pomturo n.t wh ich [Link] martens ite begins imnwcli,ttoly, proceeds at a [Link] that becom es
· ·hn ~<g•l 1..-~ i :1 ,.; in ,.;[Link] of diffot·cn t carbon [Link], or more [Link] a s tho t.o mpentturo is lowered, and
a l hr•' <'·dinwn,.; i'onn l dinf!rnm may be drawA .Ln ·s how continues to nn extent that. increases ns the temper<\·
i hfl n 1ln t inn,.; iJlJI.\I'OOn en rbo n co ntent, [Link] of cooling ture is lowered. At still lo wet' tempomtures t he
nnd fh (l l t~nlpcrn. [Link]·os o f [Link] [Link] . .It. hn.~ m n.r tonsitc chango takes p ln ce· wit h groat rn pidity,
a lso bern known f•>r ~;o111 o 1imo thot when steel is ond in,·ostigat ions on iron-ca rbon-nickel and iron·
C'<lnlrd h > nbout. ;;(Jl)° C. 1d n. mtc t hat suppresses [Link] [Link] alloys have shown that tho
J.o:·mnl cl111nge. nnd i>; t hon rnoled 111oro ~<lowly or [Link].o chttngo in carbon stools corro ~ponds to the
mnintninNI n.t constant tompom ta n·o, nn [Link] y _,.a chnnge in iron-nickel or [Link] nlloys.

FISSION OF URANIUM NUCLEI

ROF. OTTO J fAI fN of tho Knisor Wilhe lm
· P [Link] fur Chemic , Horlin-Dah lem, wns guest
lectu rer, on tho invi tation of t ho l t oyal Society, o.t
product.s following xenon and cmsium isotopes.
Up to this po int, Prof. Hahn lmd d escribed on ly .
previously unknown activi t ies, but he wont on to
iho [Link] [Link] Cln F riclny, Juno 23. P rof. s how how fit·st, one and then nnothm· of tho so-called
] raJm 's fHlhjoct Wl\ 8 "Tho F .ission of Uranium Nuclei tra ns·uranio olomon t,"!, p ostulated t.o explain m ost of
b y [Link],.;", ond h is a ccount wo.s chiefly historicn.l. the ettrly w ork o n tho uranium disint egrn.t io n , were
As [Link] firf<t, dofinit;oly t o cs t [Link] t ho production of proved. by pu rely chomic;tl m cnns, also to be lo ng t o
elements of medi um atomic weight. (fission products) [Link] mi cldlo, m.f'.ltot· than t ho end . of t ho periodic table.
when nrnnium is [Link] by neutrons, Prof. This wns [Link] by physicnl met hods in o ther
Hahn n [Link] confi ned himself mainly to describing [Link] ; bu t. hi.; own experi ments had [Link]
tho chC'mica l m eth od of invosLiga t ion u sed by h is [Link] m [Link] ful' thm· in ono [Link] re~poct . After
collongnos a nd himself. n. g reat don.l of labour, he had b een a ble to show t hat
H e described in [Link] how, in the process of [Link] okn.-iriclium of tho earlier clns:;ifieation conta ined
confirm ing nnd ex tending tho on rlior in,·[Link] of molybci rumm as well ns tollurimn--o\·en though tho
F ermi nncl Curio o ncl Snvi tch . Dt·. Strassm nnn nncl h a lf-value pct·iocl;; of the t wo octiYe isotopes were
ho wore for ced to conclude t.h n.t s hort-lived isotopes d istrcs>:ing ly r;im ila r ! Thot·c remained only [Link] tas k
of hnrium n n rl lnn t lll1n um wore produced from of appl y ing t.h o snmo met hods of exact c hemistry to
urnnium, These bodies could be separated from t ho ot,hm· nctivi [Link] which hnd not so fn.r been [Link],
mdin m nnd a ctinium isotopes, but no t n t all from Prof. J rahn :;aid , fot· his o wn contributio n to the
innd iYc bari um or lant hanum , t·cspccLi\·oly, e it her p roblem to be complete.
by fmciionat io n or by chomi cn.l m eans . :'lfo it,nor a ncl 1n t he d iscussion which followed t his m ost interest·
Frisch discusser! [Link] rcsult.s in torms of divis ion of ing lect ure, P rof. Niels Bolt!' g [Link] a n nccount of tho
l ho lwayy nucle us into ro ug h ly oq ua.l fm g mc nt.s a nd t hooreLical t [Link] of tho fission problem recently
Frisrh ~; howod , for tho first t ime by a physical undertnkon by Jh· .•T. A. \Vhcolor nncl him;;elf in [Link]
ex peri men t., t hat tho pred icted la rgo [Link] of United [Link], n nd fur l;hor contributions wore· made
energy is released in [Link] act. of fiss ion. [Link], by Prof. 1\I. L. E. Oliphant, D r . E. J3rotscher, Prof.
i<Oitl Prof. Hn.h n, tho whole :;u bj ect wns widely G . P. Thomson a nd others .
,:;[Link] in at groat mn ny [Link] throughout t he Dr. Bretschor [Link] tho ro;;u lts of p relim·
worlcl. In his own laboratory, t ho chem ical investi- inary exporimont.s us ing lm·go quantities of lend
ga tion was [Link] nnd [Link] · p rod uction of tetra-ethy l, wh ich [Link] to sho w t h nt. fission occm·s
xenon , o::; fiss io n product together with stron - (though with a vct·y smnll cross-section ) with lend
t ium, wns established. Tho active barium nnd under fast neutron bombnrclmont.
[Link].!Hmum, on this showing, m·ise chiefly as decay N.F.
 --· -·-- .... ----··-·--·---- ----

GSO NA T U I~ 2 APRIL 22, 1939, Vor.. 143

Number of Neutrons Liberated in the Nuclear con tonL bcLw ccn tho !.wo solttLions ; <Lnd Lhrco r.•:rms
Fission of Ur;~nium rolaLivo [Link], n:l!ncly, tho fissio n tot·[Link] ', ulr<;ariy
[Link]:CJ;:-;-r cxpori mcn~s h :wo <10wn [Link] neutt·ons clc••lt wit It, [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] / l rt ,:.hioh can
nre lih('I'tlted in tho nncl<)<ll' fi>'l!ion of urn.n ium in- be calcuLtl()(l by H;;ing o. reccn Lly fennel value for
d u e'''! hy s low neutron bombardment. : secondary Cct • and finally Lho resonance capture term Ar w hich
nmli-ron:; h n.,·o been ohsClY•' d which ,;h ow [Link] ', roqui res somo [Link].
oncrgc! ic• ot· · tcmp0rnl' proporLics differen t ft·o:n Our reasoning n,.;.,;umcd !.hat all neutrons in Lro ·
tho:>v which p rim":·.-: ;;onLro ns po::;scss or 1m~y acquire. <~Hc<•d into Lho solution spent! [Link] iy [Link] Lhcir
Su<:h oh!-;on·n t i\>:Is bi,-o n o information o n Lho m l'nn l•fo, nn<l arc n.b sorhed, in tho the rmal stat<:. This i,;;
munb.:r of neutrons produc:c!l p01: nucleus spl it ; Lhis Lruo in so fnr ns th o I ;v Jnw is valid for ah»orpLion
munhcr v mn~· b o ,·ct·y s ma ll (less t h nn l ) and tho of n<·uLrons in a ll nuclt·i concrrned ; nnd, thcwforc ,
I'N'IIlt. 0f t h,, <'Xp<'rimcnt. w ill [Link] ho pos iLi,·o. not wholly t rno fo r Hrnnium, which shows n. pro-
'.': .• n: \~ '~""" n 1>1,> to g ive [Link] on t ho ·value nounced resontwco C•~pturo of [Link];; of ahout
c. . .,_ .!.t'l· Hs <'.\lil.:.;i d c~r Lho cur,po rl';H·csonting tho 25 volt..<;". A certai n iH'oporLion of neutrons cnt<'ring
d,·n,-ii·\· tli;,; r:hn! it>: I of n ou ti·ons slownd down in a.n tho solution is hound t.o como within th is reson:mco
nq1wu;:s s c· hu :.. n Slll'l'[Link] a prim nry Jlt'ntron band a nd to b o absorbed by l'l'SOnonco ; thc r<:f0 n•,
'· SllHI'C(; 1 ; I:·,,, Ill\:;\ ,)' t>f (.his Clll'VO i::; proponionaJ it wi ll novot• reach tho t hcnnnl s!.rtto. This p ropor tion
' to<.!.-:-. <,) }.,< n : ~ t !.•·· Il\ltnlh'r of n eutron:; pet· second dopon<ls on tho wit!Lh of [Link] resonance band nnd on
Cllli t.r<·d i •:: • ' .. • :'.o urcc\ or formed in t hn solntion, nnd the concontt·[Link] cu ; · its vo!uo in our [Link] of
" t.h,\ nH•at: t imn a n eu [Link] sp(mds in t-ho [Link] sym bols is oqunl to A,fA tut and wns n umcricn lly
b('flli\J h oing ~"" [Link]. A><s\ltning thn.t [Link] ,;[Link] d otcrmincd by an oxp01·imont reported clsowherc'.
('On I nins only nuclei wlti clt absorb neutron::; nc"conling l'utting nll numot·icn.l vn.lt1es in tho formu la. (2) (wi t h
to i·ho I fv lnw (tho only cxcPpl ion to t his rnlc w ill 10-"' em? ns tho un it of cross-section ), that is :
Jll'('"<' ntly b<1 <lcnlt wit.h), "is proportional to l f ';:.r;r;i , 6S/S=0 ·05±0·0l ; Atot = 36±3 ; At = l·6 x2=3·2;
w lwro c; i,; tho concon trntion (ntom grams Jl0 1' litru) of 6 Atot=S · 7 ± l· J dccomposnhlc into ~An= 1· 2 ±0 ·1,
A ct = l·6 X {1·3 :::: 0 ..1:1) = 2·1 ± 0 · 7, A, ~, li·4 ± l· i nnd
nn nhsorbing nucleus , Ci its cmss-sectio n for [Link] [Link]
of nNt! ron~ of Yclo<'itv l niH I the index i is cxtentlcd A 1 = 3 · 2. we filld :
t o nil k inds of noutt·on-:<tbsorhing rcnctions attrihut-•l h le v = 3· 5 ± O·i.
to nucle i presont in [Link] [Link]. Substitutin ~ t ho
><ymhol Ai for c;cri and Atot for ~A;, w o hn\·o itlonti- \ Vo W\'rc not able !.o allow for nn cnor in AJ, si nce
cnJI ~,- : t ho vnlttc of "I g ivon by Andor:>on ct al. <:ontains no
6.8 !::,.Q [Link] imlicuLio n o f prohablo Cl'l'O I'. A n y orror in Cf w ill
---s = Q - ~· ( l) affect v - l in nn invcr,;nly p 1·oportionol w•ty ; in
nny case •1 will r<:m nin g reater than l.
twglect ing a ll tcnns of higlt ot· o rders, s uch a,; tltoso The interest of Lhc phcnonwnon discu,;.;cd hero as
contnining ( 6.Q)', 6.Q. 6,,1tot, otc. a moons of proclu cing n. chni n of nuclcm· r eaction;;
Lc:t tho ,-ymhol 6. s t·. nnd for t ho d iffci·onc(',; ob.~c r n·d w ns [Link] m entioned in our proviow; letter. Some
I' hN wcon Lhe two solution,:; (uranyl [Link] ammo n inm) further conclusions can now bo [Link] from tho rosuirfl
uc;pcJ in our prcYioufl experiment'. Ncglocting .6 Atot reported h ero. Lot us irna,gino o, m edium eont.1inin""
ln•fot'< l Atat int.r orluoefl n n nmh igni t y in Lito tlefi [Link] only n_ranimn nnrl nuclei the tow! neutron [Link];~
of ..:l:ot (nrn ny l vs. amm onium ntlnc) wltieh 'is of w luch, m; colnpnrccl to that of urn n ium, may be
mun orically unimp01·[Link] unci can he r<'dnel'<i by n eglected (conLnining, for example, o nly somfl
ndop!-ing t h e nrithm ('t, ie ~tl mcn.n(Atot(amm.) + /::,.,1·1, 1)/ 2. h ydrogen for slowing down purposes). In such a
Tn Lito I)Hnntity 6./J tot tho m ·nnium mtclc i nro ,. .f At
t·cpt'<):'<('ntotl hy sc,·or.-1.1 [Link] terms stttndinor fot· moumm, 1 Atot . 'J > l (Atot inclnd<'s now only
tho d ifferent m odes of nou t ro n capture (!;ce bol~w ) ; ~mmi um tcrrns), the fission cl10in will pcrpci·U:Ito
lot At ho tho term for [Link] cnpturo lending to fis;;ion. ttsolf a nd bre,~k up o nly nftor rcuchitw tho walls
EYery nou t ron has t h o prohnbil ity At/Atot of C<tnsi ng limiting tho m ed ium . Our experimen t:li : csnlts show
n. fissio n an d, since ono in<l idclnal fission process that this condi t ion w ill mos t probably bo satisfied
liber ates v neu trons o n tho avorngo, t h o total nnmbor 1
(tho q uantity [Link] • " - 1, Lhough [Link], will be,
6.Q of [Link] thus Cl'('Ot('d is Q. ~I .v, nnd tho tot
however, smnll), especially ·if ono keeps in viow that
•'1lot
cqnntion (I) can be rowrit.t 1' ll os follows : tho ·term A,, b('Cilusc of tho sC'lf-rc,·ot·;;nl of the
resonance nh ~o rption line , in(•rcn:;es nmch moro slowlv
I o
I:.S ,r,,,, 6Atot than tho o thct· umnium t('rm;; when t!:o uraniu 1;1
'J = :~ - . -::~; - + ----x;- . (2)
con t('nt of tho medium is increased.
L ot us <'slimo,Lo tho ,-nlHo.~ of all qu antities n ecc,;;;ary H . vo:s- H A LDA.......-, J U ;:\.

to cnlcHlato v nccording to t,his fot·mnl o.. Tho area F . JOLIO'£,

[Link] 6.S/S can ho n'a<l from Lho graph g inm in L. KOWARSKL
[Link] d o Chimio :[Link],
our prev io us Iotter with an error of l<'ss t ha n 20 pm·
cen t (duo t o tho u [Link] t ics of in ter- [Link] oxt;ra- College do Fronco,
Paris.
polotion ; in onlor to facilita te tho lo.!.tcr , wo added
to tho cun·cs a f urther cxporimontal point fo r April 7.
1' ~~ 29 em .). Tho nthto of Atnt fo r t ho ammon ium ' \'On Halhnn, jun. , H., Joliot, }'., Kow;~[Link] L. XATUtll:, H3, 4<0
(tn30). ' '
s olution con b o onsily c,1 lculated from [Link] known
'Doo!o\, M., \'llll ilalban, jun. , H., Jotiot F l'[Link] J. C II.
c~ncontraL i ons and [Link] cross-sections (hydrogen , 2os, ou;, <1~>30). ' ·• • ~• · •
m tro:;cn nnd oxy~cn ). A 1 is equal to cu ( l· 6 in om· ' ltoh1'l'l>, lt., ){eyer, lL, \\"nnf:, 1'., l'li/1.<. /leo. , 55, 510 (ln:lO).
experiment), mu!Lipli('<l by tho ,-aluo of "f given in ' .r\wlt'rson, lf., Tiooth, E ., Dunning, J., Fermi, 1~., OJasoe , G., Slack .F . ,
l'b t/8. lieu., 55, :.11 (1939). . '
n. r ecent p npor by A nJcrson c/. al. •. 6.A 10t contnin;;
'vo n Hall..w, ju n., II., Kowa r:~k i, 1.. , Savitch, P., C.J:. (in thu Prrss).
a term express ing th(' !>mall difference of the h ydrogen ')[t'it n~r, J,., llnhn, 0., Slrn••mnnn, 1'., Z. /'li y<. , 106, 249 (103; ).

_,.
..,.,