Narrow Results

A fundamental investigation of the PIXE method applied to the measurement of trace elements in wood samples, is described in this work. Yields of the elements added to a sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) specimen, were almost constant after they were bombarded with radiation up to 600µC. Yields of certain elements in the early wood and the late wood in the same annual ring of the sugi were compared. The yields of Ca, Cu, Zn, Rb and Sr in the late wood were the same or slightly higher than those in the early wood, but Fe and Mn yields in the late wood were higher than those in the early wood. The concentration profiles of Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Sr along a radial direction in the stem of the sugi were also determined.

Distribution profiles of Sr injected into the stem of a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) were determined using PIXE. The Sr injected into the middle of the sapwood of the cedar stem moved upwards easily along the grain. The movement of the Sr in a radial direction in the stem (assumed to be through the ray) was small and there was almost no tangential movement.