Spin-directed reaction of recoil tritium with hydrogen
Abstract
In the reaction of recoil tritium, produced by the He3(n,p)T reaction, with para-H2-enriched mixtures of H2 with D2 the HT/DT ratio obtained from unmoderated systems (i.e. reaction observed in the high energy ‘hot’ region) is almost independent of the nuclear spin state of the H2; at high moderation and in the absence of scavenger (i.e. in the thermal–epithermal region) it was found that the tritium atoms react preferentially with the ortho spin-isomer of hydrogen.