ABSTRACT
Neutrons appear in some fusion reactions as, particularly, the deuterium-tritium (DT) reaction. Neutrons carry 80% of the energy yield of the DT reaction, which must be properly recovered, and they also interact with the metallic and ceramic structures of the chamber. The former is an exothermic capture and it is induced mainly by low-energy neutrons. This chapter provides a presentation that is a clear indication of the importance of neutrons in fusion. It must be recognized that neutrons have some negative effects because of the radioactivity they generate through different reactions. The energy width of a resonance is usually smaller than the thermal kinetic energy, which means that a given collision between a neutron and a nucleus can take place at a relative kinetic energy outside the resonance when the neutron has a kinetic energy equal to the resonance energy. The neutron energy deposition, including the indirect mechanisms subsequent to the neutron reaction, is computed through the kerma factor.
