Thermal neutron fission cross sections in the range 302≧A≧223

A least squares method is used to fit a smooth curve to known thermal neutron fission cross section data for nuclei of evenN. By making use of fission barriers resulting from a modified liquid drop formalism coupled with the Strutinsky Normalization Procedure, the result is generalized and applied to the prediction within this framework of some 59 cross sections in the actinide and adjacent sub-actinide and trans-actinide regions, as well as to the prediction of an additional 37 cross sections in the superheavy region. In the first group is included a number of nuclides for which presently available cross section data are necessarily cited as upper limits. In the second group, interest is focussed on the predicted island of stability surrounding a neutron shell closure at 184 and a proton shell closure at 114. The results, while they are regarded as plausible estimates and not precise determinations, indicate that many cross sections in this region can be expected to undergo a pronounced reduction in magnitude relative to the limited number of estimates previously given in the literature.