Liberation of Neutrons from Beryllium by X-Rays: Radioactivity Induced by Means of Electron Tubes

IT has been recently reported¹ that neutrons are liberated from beryllium by -rays of radium and that these are able to induce radioactivity in iodine. Following up this work, we have attempted to liberate neutrons from beryllium by means of hard X-rays, produced by high-voltage electron tubes. An electron tube, which could conveniently be operated by a high-voltage impulse generator at several million volts², is at present in use in the High Tension Laboratory of the A.E.G. in Berlin, and has served in the present experiment for the production of X-rays.