THE RADIOCHEMISTRY OF PLUTONIUM - Sciencemadness.org

15. Add 3 drops of HC1 and 1 drop of HN03, and evaporate to dryness
repeatedly until the organic is destroyed. Flame gently to expel
ammonium salts. Then dissolve in HN03 and evaporate to dryness
on a water bath. Add 501 of 0.05 ~ HN03 to the dry cone and submit
sample for mass spectrographic analysis.
Plutonium Calculation
To determine the amount of Pu in the original sample, it is necessary to
measure in a Frisch chamber the a spectrum of the plate prepared in step 8. The
ratio of Pu23’ and Pu240 activity to Pu23’ activity is calcdated. ~ the ratio is
multiplied by the original activity
236
of Pu added, the original activity
239
of Pu plus
PU240
can be obtained. From the mass analysis
239
a Pu to Pu240 atom ratio is
obtained. The specific activity of the mixture is calculated from that of the individual
isotopes. The PU239 plus Pu240 activity can be converted
239
to Pu plus
240
Pu weight
by dividing this activity by the specific activity of the mixture.
Uranium Calculation
The ratio of the various U isotopes to U 233 from the mass spectrometer
data is multiplied by the amount of U 233 spike originally added to the sample to obtain
the amount of each U isotope present in the original sample.
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