Proton Radiography at LANSCE

Abstract: 

An application of nuclear physics, a facility for using energetic protons for flash radiography, has been developed at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Protons have proven far superior to high energy x-rays for flash radiography because of their long mean free path, good position resolution, and low scatter background. Although this facility is primarily used for studying very fast phenomena such as high explosive-driven experiments, it is finding increasing application to other fields, such as tomography of static objects, phase changes in materials, and the dynamics of chemical reactions. The history and advantages of proton radiography is discussed, data from some recent experiments is reviewed, and concepts for new techniques are introduced.