BARC Trombay
Definition
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. Hosts the Dhruva and Apsara-U research reactors that have historically supplied neutron flux for Indian NAA work.
- Location
- Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Operator
- Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
- Key reactors
- Dhruva and Apsara-U research reactors
- Forensic role
- Neutron source for Neutron Activation Analysis
Common questions
Why does NAA need a facility like BARC Trombay?+
Neutron activation analysis requires a sustained, well-characterised neutron flux to irradiate a sample and induce measurable radioactivity in trace elements. A research reactor is one of the few sources that can deliver that flux reliably, which is why Indian NAA casework has historically depended on reactor access at Trombay rather than a portable source.
Is BARC itself a forensic laboratory?+
No. BARC is a nuclear research institution whose primary mission is not forensic casework. Its reactors are used by forensic scientists as an irradiation source, with the actual sample preparation and gamma spectrometry typically carried out in partnership with a forensic or analytical laboratory.
Related terms
- Gamma Spectrometry
- Energy-resolving detection of gamma rays. Each radioisotope emits a characteristic gamma at a known energy, which is how NAA identifies elements.
- Half-Life
- The time required for half the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay. Set by the decay constant lambda through t1/2 =...
- HPGe Detector
- A high-purity germanium semiconductor crystal cooled with liquid nitrogen to about 77 kelvin. Resolution at the 1,332 keV gamma line of cobalt-60...
- INAA
- Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. The whole sample is irradiated, cooled, and counted directly. No wet chemistry. Non-destructive.
- Neutron Capture (N, Gamma)
- The reaction in which a stable nucleus absorbs a neutron and becomes a radioactive isotope of the same element, emitting a prompt...
- RNAA
- Radiochemical Neutron Activation Analysis. After irradiation, the analyst chemically separates the isotope of interest to remove interfering activity. More sensitive, destructive.
- Thermal Neutron
- A low-energy neutron (around 0.025 eV) that has been slowed by a moderator. The workhorse particle of NAA because slow neutrons are...