# Learner lab record: Reaction-network yield and facility-gain ledger

Course: Advanced nuclear and lattice-assisted reactions

Name: ____________________  Date: ____________________  Group: ____________________

## Investigation question

How do cross sections, screening, branching, detector acceptance, and beam power combine into a defensible nuclear-reaction claim?

## Setup

Use the nuclear-network laboratory. Declare projectile flux, areal density, channel cross sections, screening, Q values, efficiencies, and acceptance; then compare physical yields, detector counts, heat, and facility input.

## Variables

| Variable | Role | Unit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Beam rate and target areal density | experimental inputs | particles/s and nuclei/area |
| Channel cross sections and screening | model inputs | area and dimensionless |
| Reaction yields and detector counts | dependent | events/s and counts/s |
| Nuclear energy, beam input, heat, facility gain | energy diagnostics | W and dimensionless |

## Predict before changing controls

1. Predict thin-target yield when beam rate doubles.

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2. Predict whether detector efficiency changes physical reaction rate or only recorded counts.

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## Observation table

| beam rate | areal density | channel | cross section | screening | yield | counts | nuclear W | facility gain |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |

## Analyze

1. Do channel branches close probabilistically?

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2. Which correction changes the reaction model versus detector response?

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3. Are heat and nuclear products mutually consistent?

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4. Does positive reaction Q imply facility gain above one?

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## Evidence-bounded conclusion

For channel ___, modeled yield was ___ and expected counts ___; nuclear power ___ versus facility input ___ gives gain ___, supporting claim ___ only.

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