The Crystal Structure of Gamma Plutonium,
Abstract
The crystal structure is known for only two of the five allotropic forms of plutonium metal. The delta modification is cubic face-centered with a = 4.63 A (at 350 deg C), and the epsilon form is cubic body-centered with a = 3.63 A (at 5l0 deg C). Satisfactory X-ray diffraction patterns of the alpha, beta and gamma forms of plutonium have been available for several years. However, the indexing of these powder patterns has proved to be a very difficult task. The indexing of the pattern of gamma plutonium given in this report succeeded only after a great many hours of intensive work. The patterns of alpha and beta plutonium have not yet been interpreted. Table 1 gives the observed intensities and sine squares as obtained from a powder diffraction pattern of gamma plutonium taken with CuK alpha-radiation at 226 deg C. The alpha sub 1 alpha sub 2 - doublet is separated for sine squared theta > 0.400, and the measurements refer to the stronger component. jg p.5
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1951
- Accession Number
- ADA297828
Entities
People
- W. H. Zachariasen
Organizations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory