A Study of the Interaction of Protons with Tritium

Preliminary measurements of the scattering cross section of tritium for protons and the reaction cross section for ${\mathrm{T}}^3\mathrm{}(p,n)\mathrm{}{\mathrm{He}}^3$ have been made. A method of analysis for hydrogen in tritium samples is described. The neutron yield of the reaction is high and will make it a useful source; the threshold is sharp and can be used as a point on the energy scale of nuclear physics. Angular distributions for scattering and cross sections for the reaction are given.