Instrumentation of the M.I.T. Cyclotron for the Study of Nuclear Reactions

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Abstract
The emergent beam from the cyclotron has been focused to bombard targets placed in an evacuated chamber behind shielding walls. Heavy charged particle products from the targets can be counted and identified as to charge and mass by three proportional ionization chambers in time coincidence, utilizing the difference in specific ionization near the end of the particle range. Energy spectra at fixed angles are observed with an automatic foil changer which interposes aluminum absorbers between target and detector. Angular distributions can be studied by rotating the detector about the target with a remote‐controlled selsyn drive. Rapid automatic recording of data is accomplished with count storage circuits, a beam current integrator, mechanisms for scanning through a preselected set of absorber foils, and a pen‐recorder. Reactions studied to date include (d,p), (d,t), (d,α), (p,d), and elastic and inelastic scattering of protons, deuterons, and α‐particles. Targets throughout the periodic table have been used, with special emphasis on the elements available in thin foil form. Research papers published in the Physical Review will present some of the results obtained to date and describe certain correlations observed.