Stopping power of silver for 252Cf fission fragments

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to familiarize undergraduate students with the fission process. The stopping power of silver for 252Cf fission fragments of various energies will be measured. The experimental value for the stopping power is obtained from the measured energy loss of the fission fragments for five different thicknesses of silver absorber. The results are favorably compared to calculations making use of a semiempirical theoretical formula developed by Lindhard and revised by Müller. The theory is of such a form that an undergraduate student in physics can easily do the calculations