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Production of carbon 14 by cosmic‐ray neutrons
Author(s) -
Lingenfelter R. E.
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/rg001i001p00035
Subject(s) - cosmic ray , neutron , flux (metallurgy) , carbon fibers , physics , diffusion , astrophysics , nuclear physics , neutron flux , altitude (triangle) , latitude , cosmic cancer database , atmospheric sciences , computational physics , astronomy , materials science , geometry , mathematics , composite number , metallurgy , composite material , thermodynamics
The rate of production of carbon 14 by cosmic‐ray neutrons is calculated by multigroup diffusion theory as a function of altitude, latitude, and time, and it is normalized to absolute cosmic‐ray neutron flux measurements. The global average production rate over the last ten solar cycles is found to be 2.50 ± 0.50 carbon 14 atoms per square centimeter per second. This value is compared with recent estimates of the decay rate of 1.8 ± 0.2 and 1.9 ± 0.2, and some of the possible implications are discussed.