An important radionuclide produced in watercooled nuclear re

An important radionuclide produced in water-cooled nuclear reactors is 16^N which has a half-life of 7.13 s and emits very energetic gamma rays of 6.1 and 7.1 MeV. This nuclide is produced by the endoergic reaction 16^O(n,p)16^N. What is the minimum energy of the neutron needed to produce 16^N?

Solution

the kinetic energy of the neutron is,

   2Kn = 2(mc^2)

     Kn = mc^2

the mass of the K+and K- particle is 16 MeV/c²

hence, the energy of the neutron is,

    Kn = [16 MeV/c²][c^2] = 16 MeV