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New considerations for compact cyclotrons

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-97). / A compact cyclotron built with superconducting magnets could be a transformative solution to many scientific problems facing the defense, medical, and energy industries today. This thesis discusses three potential applications of compact cyclotrons: generation of ¹³ for medical imaging, active interrogation for counter-proliferation, and fast neutron imaging for Enhanced Stockpile Surveillance (ESS). The first two applications are broadly reviewed. The ESS imaging application extends from preliminary work performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who proposed a linear accelerator-driven ²H(d,n)³He reaction, and a complex gas-handling target subsystem. Here, the entire source-side engineering is reconsidered by investigating the viability of 56 different neutron-producing reactions. It is found through Monte Carlo simulation that the ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction could improve image contrast by employing a superconducting cyclotron capable of 3.8 MeV, 414 [mu]A proton beam and liquid lithium target. / by Eric S. Marshall. / S.M.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/76967
Date January 2012
CreatorsMarshall, Eric S. (Eric Scott)
ContributorsRichard C. Lanza., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
PublisherMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Source SetsM.I.T. Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format97 p., application/pdf
RightsM.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

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