Half-life and gamma abundance ratio measurements of 153Sm

The measurement of the decay of 153Sm was observed by gamma spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting and gas proportional counting in an attempt to confirm the half life and gamma abundance ratios for this isotope. Recent changes in the published nuclear decay data indicate that historical literature values may be biased. The 153Sm was made by the neutron activation of ultra-pure isotopically enriched 152Sm to create 153Sm. The decay measurements were made over a three week period and no other isotopes were detected during this time. The gamma abundance ratio for the 103 keV gamma was measured to be (27.9%) which is 4% lower than the published data. In addition, the half life was 1.9308 days, which is 0.34% lower than the published data. (author)