ABSTRACT

The distribution of the nuclear reaction product ⁵¹Cr between alloys in an iron meteorite was investigated by leaching with dilute sulfuric acid. The meteorite sample wrapped with a cadmium plate was irradiated with neutrons and cooled. The sample was leached and the γ rays from ⁵¹Cr, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵⁸Co and ⁵⁹Fe induced by ⁵⁴Fe(n, α), ⁵⁴Fe(n, p), ⁵⁸Ni(n, p) and ⁵⁸Fe(n, γ), respectively, were measured in each step of leaching. The chromium content was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in each step. The Δ⁵¹Cr defined as the activity difference between the observed and calculated activities in each step was used for estimating the adsorption of the ⁵¹Cr onto the metal surface.