Abstract
The present paper examines the luminescence of ternary Ar-Kr-Xe and Ne-Ar-Kr mixtures of noble gases in the spectral range from 300 to 970 nm, excited by the 6Li(n,α)3H nuclear reaction products in the core of a nuclear reactor. A thin layer of lithium applied on the walls of the experimental device, stabilized in the matrix of the capillary-porous structure, serves as a source of gas excitation. During in-pile tests, conducted at the IVG.1M research reactor, thermal neutrons interact via the 6Li(n,α)3H reaction, and the emergent alpha particles with a kinetic energy of 2.05 MeV and tritium ions with a kinetic energy of 2.73 MeV excite gaseous medium. The study was carried out in a wide temperature range. The temperature dependence of the intensity of the emission of the atoms of noble gases and alkali metals, heteronuclear ionic molecules of noble gases were studied. The obtained values of the activation energy of the emission process 1.58 eV for lithium and 0.72 eV for potassium agree well with the known values of evaporation energy. Excitation of alkali metals atoms occurs consequently of the Penning process of alkali metals atoms on noble gas atoms in the 1s-states and further ion-molecular reactions.
Highlights
The direct conversion of the energy of nuclear reactions into optical radiation seems to be an important technical problem with great practical applications [1]
The present paper examines the luminescence of ternary Ar-Kr-Xe and Ne-Ar-Kr mixtures of noble gases in the spectral range from 300 to 970 nm, excited by the 6Li(n,α)3H nuclear reaction products in the core of a nuclear reactor
Lines of alkali metal (Li, Na, K) atoms appear in the emission spectra of ternary gas mixtures when the temperature rises
Summary
The direct conversion of the energy of nuclear reactions into optical radiation seems to be an important technical problem with great practical applications [1]. The solving of this problem will allow creation of highly efficient energy sources of coherent and non-coherent optical radiation [2]. Our works using lithium as a surface source of excitation of gaseous medium in the core of a nuclear reactor, instead of the previously widely used uranium fission fragments, products of nuclear reactions 3He(n,p)3H and 10B(n,α)7Li were aimed to find and study of the gaseous medium with high efficiency of converting the energy of nuclear reactions into optical radiation
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