Abstract
To measure the diffusion in solids of alpha-active elements, the well known surface-decrease method has been supplemented by two others: (1) a differential method based on measurement of the reduction in relative height of the alpha peaks and (2) an absolute method based on the degradation of the alpha spectrum. These three methods give comparable results, as demonstrated by a study of the diffusion of plutonium in UO 2. The diffusion of the actinide elements 90–95 (Th-Am) in dense sintered compacts of UO 2 has been measured in the range 1250–1600° C. Taking as point of reference the experimentally determined activation energy of 98 kcal mole for the transport of plutonium in UO 2, we have found by comparison the following activation energies (in kcal/mole): Th=98, Pa = 108, U = 104, Np = 110, Am=92.
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