Radioactivity induced by neutrons: Enrico Fermi and a thermodynamic approach to radiative capture

Abstract

When Fermi learned that slow neutrons are much more effective than fast ones in inducing radioactivity, he explained this phenomenon by mentioning the well-known scattering cross section between neutrons and protons. At this early stage, he did not refer to the capture cross section by target nuclei. At the same time a thermodynamic approach to neutron-proton capture was being discussed by physicists: neutron capture was interpretated as the reverse of deuteron photodissociation and detailed balance among neutrons, protons, deuterons, and radiation was invoked. This thermodynamic approach might underlie Fermi’s early explanation of the great efficiency of slow neutrons. Fermi repeatedly used a thermodynamic approach that had been used in describing some of the physical properties of conductors by Richardson and had been influential in Fermi’s youth.