Principle, possibilities and applications of gamma activation analysis

The various photonuclear reactions suitable for analytical purposes, their specificity and their performances are reviewed. The influence of the experimental irradiation conditions on the theoretical detection limits permitted and on the relative importance of competitive nuclear reactions liable to interfere is examined, with special reference to the determination of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. It is shown that these parasitic effects of nuclear origin may be eliminated by the choice of the maximum irradiation energy. Examples are given of applications relative to trace determinations of light elements, especially carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, in metals or semi-conductors and to instrumental multi-element analyses of biological materials, atmospheric sampling filters and above all agricultural products