[meteorite-list] Neutron production in hyper-velocity impacts

From: Rob Matson <mojave_meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:56:41 -0800
Message-ID: <GOEDJOCBMMEHLEFDHGMMIEGADHAA.mojave_meteorites_at_cox.net>

Hi G?ran and List,

G?ran replied:

> As the temperature that is required to get kinetic fusion between atoms
> is way too high to be reached in an impact that way to generate neutrons
> is closed.

I think you misunderstood the <long-shot> mechanism I was offering up --
perhaps a language translation difficulty with the word "fusor". I
don't mean thermonuclear fusion, of course; what I'm referring to is
inertial electrostatic confinement, where the energy required is very
modest. It's not that difficult to produce neutrons with a tabletop
device using nothing other than electricity, a cleverly constructed
pair of nested electrodes, a (poor) vacuum, and deuterium.

Now while iron or chondritic meteoroids are probably not good fusor
fuel sources, comets may be another story, since they could provide
the deuterium (e.g. heavy water).

G?ran continued:

> The only remaining way that I see is by photo spallation of
> atoms by high energy photons. Typically photons begin to produce
> neutrons on interaction with normal matter at energies of about
> 7 to 40 MeV.

You're not going to get any photons in that energy range for a
simple kinetic impact. What is the maximum temperature we're talking
about -- 15,000 K? 20,000 K? Even at 50,000 K, I don't think there
are any blackbody photons at angstrom wavelengths.

--Rob
Received on Mon 31 Dec 2007 02:56:41 AM PST