Analysis of an object assumed to contain “Red Mercuryâ€
Abstract
After having been informed about an attempt of illicit trafficking, the Organized Crime Division of the Zagreb Police Authority confiscated in November 2003 a hand size metal cylinder suspected to contain "Red Mercury" (RM).
The sample assumed to contain RM was analyzed with two nondestructive analytical methods in order to obtain information about the nature of the investigated object, namely, activation analysis with 14.1 MeV neutrons and EDXRF analysis. The activation analysis with 14.1 MeV neutrons showed that the container and its contents were characterized by the following chemical elements: Hg, Fe, Cr and Ni. By using EDXRF analysis, it was shown that the elements Fe, Cr and Ni were constituents of the capsule. Therefore, it was concluded that these three elements were present in the capsule only, while the content of the unknown material was Hg. Antimony as a hypothetical component of red mercury was not detected.- Publication:
-
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B
- Pub Date:
- August 2007
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2007NIMPB.261..922O
- Keywords:
-
- Red mercury;
- Illicit trafficking;
- FNAA;
- EDXRF;
- 28.52.Nh;
- 29.30.Hs;
- 29.30.Kv;
- Safety;
- Neutron spectroscopy;
- X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy
