Measurements of the 59Ni(n,α) cross section for thermal neutrons

The (n,α) reaction cross section for 59Ni has been measured at thermal-neutron energies. The experiment utilized dielectric, alpha-particle track detectors and a known thermal-neutron flux. Twelve measurements were made with nickel samples of different thickness and 59Ni enrichment and with track detectors of varying efficiency. The average of all measurements gave the result σ(n,α) (2200 m/sec) = 13.7 ± 1.2 b.