Panel Suggests New Uses for Accelerators of 6 MeV or Less

A National Academy of Sciences report, “New Uses for Low‐Energy Accelerators,” suggests a variety of experiments for nuclear astrophysicists, atomic and solid‐state physicists. The 173‐page report, prepared by an adhoc panel chaired by William A. Fowler, discusses many uses for machines with energies of 6 MeV or less. Comments from the report include: •

• Thermonuclear‐reaction studies provide the most useful application of these accelerators to nuclear astrophysics. One can study nonresonant charged‐particle, resonant and neutron‐induced reactions and photonuclear rates.

•With beam‐foil spectroscopy the atomic physicist can study the level structure of monatomic ions. The atomic lifetimes of the highly charged ions produced in the foil experiments are determined by measuring the decrease either in the transition rate or in the brightness of the emerging ions.

• Among the experiments of interest to solid‐state physicists are those dealing with energy loss and with penetration of keV to MeV particles into amorphous and crystalline solids. Channeling (anisotropic‐penetration) studies can be performed on crystals to locate foreign atoms, determine precise crystal orientation and study lattice damage. One can possibly tailor solid‐state materials by adding atoms dynamically (ion implantation) rather than by conventional doping techniques.

• Solid‐state and nuclear physicists might profitably cooperate in studies of the interaction of nuclear moments with solid‐state environments. Measurements of magnetic and electric fields in solids interacting with the magnetic and electric moments of the nuclei could be used to study either the fields or the moments.