Method for measuring the efficiency of energy removal by fission fragments through the fissile-substance surface.

Part of the fission energy released in some volume of fissile substance is removed through the surface of this volume by fission fragments and can efficiently be used to pump gas lasers. The possibility of deducing this energy fraction from the results obtained by directly measuring the yield of alpha particles originating from the alpha decay of fissile substance and escaping through the surface of the volume being considered is examined. The respective estimates were derived in a first approximation on the basis of an extremely simple computational model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]