Is there a time frame associated with these activities? How many femtoseconds does it take for the neutron to go through the nucleus or interact with it? I am having a tough time getting a handle upon this behavior. ;-)
Dave -----Original Message----- From: Harry Veeder <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Mar 27, 2013 12:38 am Subject: Re: [Vo]: Low Energy Neutrons and Local Temperature On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 6:29 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote: > > One question that I keep asking is how quickly does a quantum mechanical > effect take place? How long does a neutron have to be near to a steady > nucleus before it is sucked in? As we all things quantum mechanical it is a matter of probabilities. In fact there is a probability a neutron can pass right through a nucleus and leave the mass number unchanged. The probability that a neutron will be absorbed by a nucleus is proportional to the speed of the neutron. After it is absorbed the nucleus can undergo fission or whatever. Harry
