Measurement of very short-lived nuclides

The measurement of very short-lived nuclides (viz. half-lives of less than several seconds) for the determination of various elements by activation analysis is in itself, due to the very short time intervals involved, a nondestructive technique. The principal problems associated with the measurement of very short-lived nuclides are due to the very short time in which all steps in the procedure must be carried out. The very short irradiation time, the very rapid transfer times and the very short measurement time can be dealt with only by fully automatic operations. To allow an accurate analysis at practical sensitivity levels, specially built equipment is required. The authors present a description of the necessary equipment and discuss several applications. (Auth.)