LETTER of the MONTH
A SLEDGEHAMMER TO CRACK A NUT?
I note in Ulrike Dederer’s article (‘Why varnish matters’, October) that the researchers used neutron analysis to monitor the uptake by wood of water from humid air. A typical neutron analysis would involve the spontaneous fission of Californium-252 as the neutron source, a temperature-controlled graphite moderator and a lithium fluoride scintillation screen to display the results.