Abstract
Nuclear reactions induced by 7.6-MeV deuterons are used to determine total carbon in atmospheric aerosols. The /sup 12/C-(d,n) /sup 13/N reaction produces the radionuclide /sup 13/N, a 10.0-min positron emitter, which is detected by its 0.511-MeV annihilation radiation. The detection system is a Ge(Li) ..gamma..-ray spectrometer. The method is nondestructive of the sample, permitting the sample to be studied by additional methods. Comparison of carbon found by deuteron activation analysis with that found by independent but destructive combustion methods shows a standard deviation of 10% for 15 samples analyzed over a wide range of carbon contents. The detection limit is estimated to be 0.5 ..mu..g/cm/sup 2/, corresponding to a carbon concentration of 0.2% in a sample of total thickness 250 ..mu..g/cm/sup 2/.
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