Isotopes and Neutrons Select Assessments of National Science Programs

The Department of Energy is the only domestic supplier for many of the over 300 different isotopes it sells that are critical to medical, commercial, research, and national security applications. Previous shortages of some isotopes, such as helium-3, an isotope used to detect radiation at seaports and border crossings, highlight the importance of managing supplies of and demand for critical isotopes. Additionally, the U.S. neutron science effort continues to be world-class, with searches for the neutron electric dipole moment and measurements of the neutron lifetime, radiative decay, beta decay correlation coefficients, hadronic parity violation, and interferometry. This book provides an overview of select assessments of national science programs relating to both isotopes and neutrons.