KJM5911 Lab Exercise 4 - Szilard-Chalmers Reaction and Liquid-Scintillation Counting

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Learning Goals

After this exercise, you should know about and understand the following topics:

  • The difference between radioactivity with or without carrier.
  • Szilard-Chalmers method to produce carrier-free radioactive halides.
  • Understand the theory behind Liquid Scintillation detection.
  • Understand how the detection equipment in Liquid Scintillation works.

Theory

Experimental Procedure

Reports

For this exercise you should write a report with a two-page limit explaining about what you did and your results.

Safety Aspects

  • Only the supervisor is allowed to fetch irradiated ethyliodine, no one else is authorized to handle the n source. The radiation field close to the source is rather intense and all handling is done with remote manipulation-tools. If you company your supervisor to watch, ensure that you stand at least one metre away from the source.
  • The amount of radioactivity after the n irradiation is barely measurable, so normal C-type lab rules apply. The short half-life makes it easy to handle waste and possible contaminations - it will be gone by tomorrow.
  • Normal chem. lab safety rules should of course be followed, but there are no particular dangers.
  • Make sure to ballance the centrifuge properly, and remember that the density of the ethyliodide solution is much higher than the one for water!