THE C-12(N,ALPHA) REACTION AND THE KERMA FACTOR FOR CARBON AT EN = 14.1 MEV

Energy and angular distributions of alpha particles from the bombardment of carbon foils with 14. 1-Mev neutrons were measured with a magnetic spectrometer. The observations included alpha particles with energies above 1 Mev emitted at angles between 19 and 135 deg. The cross section for alpha-particle emission obtained by integrating over emission angle was 402 plus or minus 46 mb. From these data and from evaluations of the elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections, a kerma factor (energy deposition) of 1. 84 plus or minus 0. 16 multiplied by 10** minus **9 cGy multiplied by (times) cm**2 was deduced. The present cross section for the **1**2C(n,n prime 3 alpha ) reaction is much lower than previous measurements.