THE PHOTOELECTRIC K-ABSORPTION CROSS SECTION OF HELIUM AND LITHIUM

Abstract

The absorption cross section of Helium in the spectral region near the K-edge was measured. Results were in good agreement with calculations. The absorption cross section of Lithium near its K-edge was measured with an uncertainty of 10%. Observations agree with the results of a calculation performed using the published calculations on Helium as a guide. The measurement of the absorption cross section differed from that of previous investigators in that a small cell was used to confine the gas, whereas in other investigations the entire optical path of a gasfilled spectrometer served as the absorbing sample. An advantage which accrues from the use of a gas cell is the possibility of carrying out absorption measurements utilizing a soft x-ray emission band as a source and a photomultiplier as a detector. Such a combination provided an accurate attenuation measurement for Helium at 180 A, the short wavelength end of the spectral range of interest. At all longer wavelengths (200 to 600 A), a condensed spark served as the source of radiation which was detected photographically. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1962
Accession Number
AD0272604

Entities

People

  • D.j. Jr. Baker

Organizations

  • Cornell University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Absorption Cross Sections
  • Cells
  • Detectors
  • Electromagnetic Wave Detectors
  • Gas Cells
  • Measurement
  • Radiation
  • Short Wavelengths
  • Soft X Rays
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Spectroscopy.