Superheated drop as a neutron spectrometer

Superheated drops are known to vaporise when exposed to energetic nuclear r adiation since the discovery of bubble chamber. The application of superhea ted drops in neutron research especially in neutron dosimetry is a subject of intense research for quite sometime. As the degree of superheat increase s in a given liquid, less and less energetic neutrons are required to cause nucleation. This property of superheated liquid makes it possible to use i t as a neutron spectrometer. Neutron detection efficiency of superheated dr ops made of R12 exposed to Am-Be neutron source has been measured over a wi de range of temperature - 17-60 degrees C and the results have been utilise d to construct the energy spectrum of the neutron source. This paper demons trates that a suitable neutron spectrometer may be constructed by using a s ingle liquid and varying the temperature of the liquid suitably at a closer grid. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.