HEIDI Ltd.
Exhaustive Nuclear Search and Analysis Package
User Manual
Author: Bill Collis mr.collis@physics.org
Updated: 14 Dcember 2006
(C)opyright HEIDI Ltd. 1994-2004. All rights reserved.
Strada Sottopiazzo 18, 14055 Boglietto(AT), ITALY
ENSAP is a general purpose nuclear reaction program which will run under DOS on almost any PC (386 or later). It calculates Q values, spin and parity changes for a one or more reactions of the form:-
A + B -> C + D
The user may optionally impose restrictions including spin conservation, parity conservation, product stability etc. Only reactions conserving proton and neutron number are normally considered. The program can provide additional information on natural abundances or decay modes. Output is in ASCII form for direct insertion into a word processor. A simple option transforms superscripts into HTML format if required.
Only 2 Reactants / Products?
At first sight it may seem that the simple reaction scheme above with no more than two products and/or reactants is too restrictive. In practice there are few reactions at low energy which are not covered. One notable exception is solar fusion of 3He which produces 2 protons as well as 4He.
|
3He(0.00%) |
+ 3He(0.00%) |
-> |
2He(p ) |
+ 4He( 100%) |
+12.859 MeV |
ENSAP copes with unusual situation by introducing a notional 2He which simply consists of 2 protons with no binding energy. Consequently then 12.859 MeV displayed is correct.
The database is based on 2004 data provided by the Brookhaven National Laboratory and has been extensively checked for consistency. The standard database contains over 2900 nuclides. If you would like to see what the database contains, try listing the attributes of all the isotopes using the command:-
ENSAP *
ENSAP will display over 2900 lines of data! (The asterisk means all isotopes as we shall see later).
No installation required! Just copy the program ENSAP.COM to any suitable directory on your hard disk. ENSAP is a stand alone program and contains the entire isotope database in memory. Both the program and database are highly compressed to save disk space and to load faster.
ENSAP is an MS-DOS program running at the command line. A help screen is displayed on running ENSAP with no parameters. A quick way to understand how to use the program is to try the examples in the next section.
ENSAP p ? n * Neutrons from protons
ENSAP e ? # Electron capture by natural isotopes
ENSAP . ? e Natural beta- decay
ENSAP . ? e+ Natural beta+ decay (positron emission)
ENSAP . ? He4 Natural alpha instability
ENSAP . ? ! ! Natural fission - beta stable products
ENSAP H H All fusion combinations between p, d and t.
ENSAP p Hg Ag *90 Natural silver and mass 90
ENSAP * List contents of database
ENSAP Pd List palladium isotopes and properties
ENSAP expects two reactants to be specified and up to two products. If a product is not specified then ENSAP assumes '*' which means any isotope.
In addition you may want to specify command line options. Options must start with the '/' character. You can specify options in any order, group them together, or even mix them with the other parameters.
For example the following lines all mean exactly the same thing:-
ENSAP /esp H1 H2
ENSAP p d /p /e
Products and reactants are specified in simple notation using standard element symbols and / or mass numbers. For example:-
| Ag | any natural Silver isotope. |
| Ag110 | the radioactive 110Ag isotope. |
| Ag* | all Silver isotopes |
| n | neutron. |
| p | protium (same as H1). |
| d | deuterium (same as H2). |
| t | tritium (same as H3). |
| ? | any natural isotope. |
| ! | any natural or beta stable isotope plus n and t. |
| q | any beta stable nuclide with nuclear quadrupole moment |
| * | any isotope. |
| *100 | any isotope with mass 100. |
| # | a massless particle (photon/phonon)with spin 1+. |
| . | nothing (spin 0+). |
| b | any beta unstable isotope. |
| + | any isotope unstable to electron capture or positron decay. |
| - | any beta- unstable isotope. |
| a | any beta stable unnatural isotope (alpha unstable). |
When only one isotope specification is defined, ENSAP displays the corresponding isotopic data. If the isotope specification refers to one element only, then in addition some pysical / chemical data is also displayed. For example ENSAP displays details of Tin in response to the command line:-
ENSAP Sn*.
|
Isotope |
Delta MeV |
Atomic Weight |
Spin/ |
log10 |
EQM |
|
|
|
|
Parity |
Halflife |
mbarns |
|
100Sn(beta+) |
-56.4630 |
99.939385 |
0+ |
+0.00 |
|
|
101Sn(beta+) |
-59.5600 |
100.936060 |
?- |
+0.48 |
|
|
102Sn(beta+) |
-64.7480 |
101.930491 |
0+ |
-6.70 |
|
|
103Sn(beta+) |
-66.9460 |
102.928131 |
5/2- |
+0.84 |
|
|
104Sn(beta+) |
-71.5523 |
103.923186 |
0+ |
+1.32 |
|
|
105Sn(beta+) |
-73.2329 |
104.921382 |
5/2- |
+1.49 |
|
|
106Sn(beta+) |
-77.4281 |
105.916878 |
0+ |
+2.06 |
|
|
107Sn(beta+) |
-78.5625 |
106.915660 |
5/2+ |
+2.24 |
|
|
108Sn(beta+) |
-82.0132 |
107.911956 |
0+ |
+2.79 |
|
|
109Sn(beta+) |
-82.6348 |
108.911289 |
5/2+ |
+3.03 |
|
|
110Sn(E.C. ) |
-85.8337 |
109.907854 |
0+ |
+4.17 |
|
|
111Sn(beta+) |
-85.9430 |
110.907737 |
7/2+ |
+3.33 |
|
|
112Sn(0.97%) |
-88.6579 |
111.904823 |
0+ |
|
|
|
113Sn(beta+) |
-88.3295 |
112.905175 |
1/2+ |
+7.00 |
|
|
114Sn(0.65%) |
-90.5571 |
113.902784 |
0+ |
|
|
|
115Sn(0.34%) |
-90.0314 |
114.903348 |
1/2+ |
|
|
|
116Sn(14.5%) |
-91.5235 |
115.901746 |
0+ |
|
|
|
117Sn(7.68%) |
-90.3967 |
116.902956 |
1/2+ |
|
|
|
118Sn(24.2%) |
-91.6517 |
117.901609 |
0+ |
|
|
|
119Sn(8.58%) |
-90.0656 |
118.903311 |
1/2+ |
|
|
|
120Sn(32.6%) |
-91.1015 |
119.902199 |
0+ |
|
|
|
121Sn(beta-) |
-89.2009 |
120.904240 |
3/2+ |
+4.99 |
|
|
122Sn(4.63%) |
-89.9440 |
121.903442 |
0+ |
|
|
|
123Sn(beta-) |
-87.8186 |
122.905724 |
11/2- |
+7.05 |
|
|
124Sn(5.79%) |
-88.2362 |
123.905275 |
0+ |
|
|
|
125Sn(beta-) |
-85.8979 |
124.907786 |
11/2- |
+5.92 |
|
|
126Sn(beta-) |
-86.0199 |
125.907655 |
0+ |
+12.50 |
|
|
127Sn(beta-) |
-83.5081 |
126.910351 |
11/2- |
+3.88 |
|
|
128Sn(beta-) |
-83.3360 |
127.910536 |
0+ |
+3.55 |
|
|
129Sn(beta-) |
-80.6299 |
128.913441 |
3/2+ |
+2.13 |
|
|
130Sn(beta-) |
-80.2424 |
129.913857 |
0+ |
+2.35 |
|
|
131Sn(beta-) |
-77.3831 |
130.916926 |
3/2+ |
+1.75 |
|
|
132Sn(beta-) |
-76.6204 |
131.917745 |
0+ |
+1.60 |
|
|
133Sn(beta-) |
-71.1264 |
132.923643 |
7/2- |
+0.08 |
|
|
134Sn(beta-) |
-67.2260 |
133.927831 |
0+ |
+0.05 |
|
Tin (Atomic Number 50) is a metal known from antiquity.
|
| ||||||
|
IUPAC |
Melting |
Boiling |
Density |
First |
Electro- |
Terrestrial |
|
Group |
Point °K |
Point °K |
g/ml |
Ioniz. |
Negat. |
Abundance |
|
14 |
505 |
2543 |
7.30 |
169 |
1.80 |
0.018 |
Notes:
The IUPAC (International Union of Physics and Chemistry) Group denotes the group in the periodic table.
Melting and noiling points are in degrees Kelvin.
Terrestrial Abundance is relative to Silicon set to 100.
The EQM column on the listing on the previous page shows the electric quadrupole moment in mBarns of most beta stable or naturally occurring isotopes. Such isotopes can be specified by the symbol 'q' on the command line. Generally an isotope has a significant quadrupole moment if its spin is greater than 1/2.
When the single isotope specification refers to one particular radio-active nucleus, its decay chain is displayed. Note that this feature does not show all possible decays if multiple channels are available (ie not both alpha and beta decay). However ENSAP makes an intelligent guess as to which channel is likely. Spontaneous fission is not considered.
ENSAP Fm252 /a
|
Isotope |
Delta MeV |
Atomic Weight |
Spin/ |
log10 |
EQM | |||
|
|
|
|
Parity |
Halflife |
mbarns | |||
|
252Fm |
+76.8102 |
252.082458 |
0+ |
+4.96 |
| |||
|
252Fm |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+248Cf |
+7.153 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
248Cf |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+244Cm |
+6.361 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
244Cm |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+240Pu |
+5.902 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
240Pu |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+236U |
+5.256 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
236U |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+232Th |
+4.572 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
232Th |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+228Ra |
+4.083 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
228Ra |
+ . |
-> |
e- |
+228Ac |
+0.046 MeV |
[2] |
|
|
|
228Ac |
+ . |
-> |
e- |
+228Th |
+2.127 MeV |
[2] |
|
|
|
228Th |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+224Ra |
+5.520 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
224Ra |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+220Rn |
+5.789 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
220Rn |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+216Po |
+6.405 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
216Po |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+212Pb |
+6.906 MeV |
[0] |
|
|
|
212Pb |
+ . |
-> |
e- |
+212Bi |
+0.574 MeV |
[0] |
|
PV |
|
212Bi |
+ . |
-> |
4He |
+208Tl |
+6.207 MeV |
[4] |
|
PV |
|
208Tl |
+ . |
-> |
e- |
+208Pb |
+5.001 MeV |
[4] |
|
|
PV indicates a parity violation which may inhibit the rate of reaction
/a -> Do not show relative isotopic abundance/decay mode
/e -> Allow endothermic reactions
/en-> Add n keV (external energy) to reaction
/g -> Show gamow suppression factor (log10)
/m -> Wait for a key press before showing next screen
/p -> Conserve parity
/s -> Conserve spin
/h -> Output in HTML format
As an example let us consider all possible nuclear reactions between natural hydrogen isotopes. This class of isotopes is designated by the chemical symbol H, and includes tritium. (Strictly speaking, tritium is present in such tiny quantities on earth that it hardly deserves the title natural. In fact, in the example tritium is shown as beta unstable with no natural abundance.) This search is invoked by:-
ENSAP H H
and produces the following output:-
| 1H (100.%) | + 2H (0.02%) | -> | g | + 3He(0.00%) | +5.494 MeV | [0] | ||
| 1H (100.%) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | g | + 4He(100.%) | +19.814 MeV | [0] | ||
| 2H (0.02%) | + 2H (0.02%) | -> | g | + 4He(100.%) | +23.846 MeV | [1] | ||
| 2H (0.02%) | + 2H (0.02%) | -> | 1n (beta-) | + 3He(0.00%) | +3.269 MeV | [0] | ||
| 2H (0.02%) | + 2H (0.02%) | -> | 1H (100.%) | + 3H (beta-) | +4.033 MeV | [0] | ||
| 2H (0.02%) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | g | + 5He(n ) | +16.695 MeV | [0] | ||
| 2H (0.02%) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | 1n (beta-) | + 4He(100.%) | +17.589 MeV | [0] | ||
| 3H (beta-) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | g | + 6He(beta-) | +12.305 MeV | [0] | ||
| 3H (beta-) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | 1n (beta-) | + 5He(n ) | +10.438 MeV | [0] | PV | |
| 3H (beta-) | + 3H (beta-) | -> | 2n (beta-) | + 4He(100.%) | +11.303 MeV | [0] |
Because the /e option was not specified, only exothermic reactions are shown so the Q values in MeV are all positive. The digit in square brackets is the minimum spin change for the reaction. Reactions are favoured when spin is conserved. So in the above example we would not expect 4He to be a major product in deuterium fusion and such is indeed the case experimentally.
The natural abundance of the product and reactant isotopes is shown in round brackets. All known stable isotopes exist naturally on earth, although some such as 3He are very rare. Unnatural isotopes are all radioactive and have since decayed. In this case, instead of showing a zero abundance, the decay mode is displayed. For example, the 5He above decays by neutron emission.
(alpha) Unstable to emission of 4He.
(beta+) Unstable to positron emission / electron capture.
(beta-) Unstable to electron emission.
(E.Cap) Unstable to electron capture (but stable to positron emission).
(p ) Unstable to proton emission.
(n ) Unstable to neutron emission.
Spin and Parity Considerations
If the spin change for a reaction cannot be calculated because the spin of one or more component isotopes has never been measured, this is shown as [?]. You can check the spin values of any isotope or group of isotopes by invoking ENSAP with a single isotope specification (see Quick Start examples). If the s option is specified only reactions which conserve spin will be displayed and in this case the spin change will not be shown.
Similarly if the p option is specified, only reactions which conserve parity will be displayed. A parity violation is shown by the designation PV. Note that parity is always conserved for reactions involving photons / phonons.
Note that all spin, parity and energy calculations are based upon isotopes in their ground states. The only exception to this rule is for 180Ta which occurs naturally in an excited 9- state with a half life of more than 1015 years. The 1+ ground state in contrast has a half life of about 8 hours.
Normally ENSAP only considers reactions which conserve proton and neutron number (strong force reactions). However by specifying an electron (e) or positron (e+) beta decays can be accommodated. Although not shown, it is implicit in the use of this notation that an accompanying neutrino or anti-neutrino is involved. The spin of the two leptons may or may not be aligned. For the time being ENSAP considers that the spin of the pair is 0 when in fact it could be 1. The result of this assumption is that the calculated reaction spin may not be minimized. However when ENSAP shows that reaction spin is conserved, this is correct.
Nuclear fission is energetically possible for many isotopes, but in practice does not occur or proceeds only slowly. This effect was examined by Gamow in 1928 who showed that there was an electrostatic Coulomb barrier inhibiting the separation of the charged products. The strong short range nuclear force must be overcome to disrupt and fission a nucleus, but the longer range electrostatic energy is only released when daughters are well separated. Consequently the most probable fission channels are not necessarily those which generate the most energy. Other considerations such as the greater tunnelling ability and lower charge of lighter products come into play.
ENSAP uses a simple formula for calculating the suppression factor due to the Coulomb barrier. This formula assumes that the daughter nuclei are perfect spheres. This produces excellent results for alpha emission over a very wide range of energies. However heavier nuclei are not spherical, and the formula is too pessimistic.
ENSAP shows the Gamow factor in units of -log10 rounded to the nearest integer. In the case of alpha decay you can estimate a half life in seconds by subtracting 23. (A typical nuclear time is 10-23 S).
It is also possible to limit displayed reaction to those most probable by specifying a Gamow limit. For example the option /g40 limits reactions to those with a Gamow supression factor of 40 or better.
ENSAP can easily search through millions of potential reactions and may generate large volumes of data. In order to reduce this volume it is advisable to impose Gamow, spin and parity restrictions and specify products and reactants in as much detail as possible. Even so output may still be considerable.
Fortunately the operating system comes to the rescue. ENSAP writes to the standard output device. Under DOS (and other operating systems) you can redirect the standard output to a file or send it directly through a pipe to another program. Redirecting the output to a file might be useful for subsequent scrolling using a text editor or similar listing program. A pipe can be used to sort or search the output (see next section).
If you are not familiar with a text editor, you can parcel the output into manageable screen-fulls using the /m option.
It may be of interest to examine which reactions are most energetic or have the smallest Gamow suppression factors. Most operating systems come with a standard utility, sort for ordering ASCII text such as that produced by ENSAP. For example to sort 235U neutron induced fission reactions one can try:-
ENSAP n U235 /spg | sort /+53 (Sort by Energy)
ENSAP n U235 /spg | sort /+67 (Sort by Gamow factor)
The /+nn parameter tells sort to start sorting the text starting at the specified column. Unfortunately the versions of SORT supplied with many PC operating system are unable to cope with more than 65 k bytes of text. However there are a number of faster sort programs without this limitation available free from public domain software suppliers.
Limitations of the Demo version of ENSAP
No support for mass 0 particles '.', 'e', '#' etc.
No calculation of spin and parity.
No calculation of Gamow suppression factors.
No calculation of endothermic reactions.
No more than about 100 candidate reactions are considered.
TO: FROM:
W Collis Name: _______________________________
Strada Sottopiazzo 18
14056 Bogllietto(AT) (Company): _______________________________
ITALY Address: _______________________________
City,State: _______________________________
Zip Code_______________________
Phone Number: _______________________________
Please supply ___ copy(s) of ENSAP for use on one computer
only. I agree to acknowledge
use of ENSAP in any publication using
ENSAP results. I enclose payment at Euros 400 per copy.
Signature _______________________
(You can also print this order form by using ENSAP with the /O option.)
HEIDI Ltd. has made considerable efforts to ensure accuracy of the database and calculations made by ENSAP but cannot take responsibility for any eventual anomalies.
HEIDI Ltd. hereby disclaims all warranties relating to the Product, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Neither HEIDI Ltd. nor any distributor shall be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to program malfunction, database inaccuracy or any other reason. In no event shall the liability of HEIDI Ltd. for any damages exceed the fee paid for the licence to use the software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risks as to the quality and performance of the software.
We thank the Brookhaven National Laboratory for atomic data, updated 2005, in computer readable format. The author acknowledges the encouragement of Dr Diego Macerata, Fiat Research Centre, Orbassano(TO), Italy and the Fulvio Frisone Foundation.
References
C.L. Dunford and R. R. Kinsey,
"Nudat System for Access to Nuclear Data. IAEA-NDS-205 (BNL-NCS-65687), IAEA,
Vienna, Austria (July 1998). Information extracted from the NuDat data base,
version of 17-Mar-2004, using the PC version of the program NuDat.