Search for Radioactivity Induced by 800-Kilovolt Electrons

Abstract

A filament is mounted on the high voltage end of a Sloan radiofrequency resonance transformer and electrons are accelerated out of the vacuum tank through a thin window at a maximum energy of about 850 kv. About fifty elements have been bombarded with these electrons and examined with a Geiger counter for induced radioactivity. No positive results were obtained. This indicates that the yield is less than 1 activation per ${10}^{12}$ electrons of approximately 750 kv, provided that the half-lives have values between some seconds and one or two hours and that the products of disintegration are electrons of over 200 kv energy. The collision cross sections for such reactions have upper limits ranging from ${10}^{-35\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for hydrogen to ${10}^{-33\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for uranium.