Comparison of Gamma Activation Analysis and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis of Geological Samples

Abstract

For the first time in Armenia, gamma activation analysis of geological samples of obsidian was carried out using beams of bremsstrahlung photons at the linear electron accelerator of the A. Alikhanyan National Scientific Laboratory (AANL). It is shown that the results of the chemical composition of the obsidian sample are comparable with the results of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of the same sample, carried out at the Curt-Engelhom-Center for Archaeometry (Mannheim, Germany), after irradiation with neutrons in a specialized nuclear reactor TRIGA at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry of the Mainz University. It is also shown that gamma activation analysis makes it possible to determine the content of a number of elements for which the use of INAA is impossible or difficult.