Neutron activation
Neutron activation analysis is a powerful non-destructive method of analyzing elements of mid to high atomic number. This method combines excitation by nuclear reaction and the radiation counting techniques to detect various materials. The measurement of characteristic radiation, following the bombardment completion, is indicative of the elements of interest. The equation for the production product is given by: formula_1 where formula_2 is the starting analyte, formula_3 is the incoming neutron, formula_4 is the excited product and formula_5 is the detected radiation that results from the de-excitation of the product species.