There is no proper intermediate nucleus at high proton energies.Aidan Davis said:This reaction would be proton-target fusion
Depends on the proton energy. There are various publications listing neutron yields for energy/target combinations.Aidan Davis said:If so, which target materials produce the most neutrons per MeV of proton energy?
Nuclear spallation is a process in which a high-energy particle, usually a proton or neutron, collides with a heavy nucleus and causes it to break apart into smaller fragments. This process releases a large amount of energy and additional neutrons, which can be harnessed for various applications.
Calculating the number of neutrons produced per reaction is important for understanding the efficiency of a given spallation setup. This information is crucial for designing and optimizing spallation systems for specific applications, such as nuclear energy production or medical isotope production.
The number of neutrons per reaction can be calculated by dividing the number of neutrons produced in a given time period by the number of spallation reactions that occurred in that same time period. This calculation can be further refined by taking into account the energy and intensity of the incoming particle beam, as well as the target material and geometry.
The number of neutrons per reaction can be affected by a variety of factors, including the energy and intensity of the incoming particle beam, the properties of the target material, and the geometry of the spallation setup. The efficiency of the neutron production process and any losses due to scattering or absorption can also impact the number of neutrons per reaction.
Nuclear spallation has a wide range of potential applications, including the production of medical isotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, neutron imaging for non-destructive testing, and nuclear energy production. It is also used in research to study the properties of nuclear matter and to create and study exotic nuclei.