A Directional Neutron Detector for Space Research Use

A neutron detector has been developed for space research applications which has directional properties for neutrons with energies greater than 10 Mev. The neutron detector is a proton recoil type utilizing 1000-1 mm diameter NE-103 plastic scintillator filaments embedded in a non-scintillating potting compound. The detector's axial efficiency is found to be 2% for 14 Mev neutrons and has an angular response half width of 30°. For pulse heights corresponding to En >5 Mev the contribution from gamma rays is negligible. A detailed description of an experiment utilizing this detector to search for solar neutrons is given. This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract NASr-211.