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Studies Of Neutron Capture Produced Rare Gas Isotopes In Rocks And Minerals Containing Chlorine, Selenium And Tellurium, David E. Sinclair

Masters Theses

"Noble gas mass spectrometry was used to study rare nuclear processes in terrestrial rocks and minerals. An excess of ³⁶Ar was detected in a chlorine-rich rock. The excess ³⁶Ar has been produced in rocks near the earth's surface due to capture of cosmic-ray-produced neutrons on ³⁵Cl. Measurement of ³⁶Ar formed by the ³⁵Cl(n, γ)³⁶Cl(β^-)³⁶Ar process makes possible a new method for determining the surface residence time of chlorine-rich minerals

Excess ⁸²Kr and excess ⁸³Kr were detected in selenium-rich ores. The excess ⁸²Kr results from double beta …

The Utilization Of High Sensitivity Noble Gas Mass Spectrometry In The Detection Of Iodine-129 And Plutonium-244, Mervet S. Boulos

Doctoral Dissertations

"Mass spectrometric analysis of the xenon isotopes in natural gas wells demonstrates that radioactive isotopes of element number 53 (I) and element number 94 (Pu) were present at the time of the Earth's formation. Evidence for the now extinct nuclide¹²⁹I (t_1/2 = 17 x 10⁶ years) was found in CO₂ -rich gas while evidence for the now extinct ²⁴⁴Pu (t_1/2 = 82 x 10⁶ years) was discovered in other natural gas wells. The amounts of ¹²⁹I in thyroids was measured by combining neutron activation analysis with noble gas mass spectrometry. The current …