Deuteron activation analysis of geological samples

Deuteron activation was found to be suitable for analysing geological samples, as no interfering activities are formed from oxygen, silicon and aluminium, which together make up more than 80% by weight of the earth's crust. To test the applicability of this method to geological samples, the mineral tourmaline was activated with 5.5 MeV deuterons obtained from the 6 MV van de Graaff accelerator at the Southern Universities Nuclear Institute. The induced activities were measured and analysed by gammaray spectrometry and the elements Al, Mg, B, Mn, Na, Fe and Li could readily be determined.