Spallation

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Spallation" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Nuclear physics
Nucleus Nucleons p n Nuclear matter Nuclear force Nuclear structure Nuclear reaction
Models of the nucleus Liquid drop Nuclear shell model Interacting boson model Ab initio
Nuclides' classification Isotopes – equal Z Isobars – equal A Isotones – equal N Isodiaphers – equal N − Z Isomers – equal all the above Mirror nuclei – Z ↔ N Stable Magic Even/odd Halo Borromean
Nuclear stability Binding energy p–n ratio Drip line Island of stability Valley of stability Stable nuclide
Radioactive decay Alpha α Beta β 2β 0v β+ K/L capture Isomeric Gamma γ Internal conversion Spontaneous fission Cluster decay Neutron emission Proton emission Decay energy Decay chain Decay product Radiogenic nuclide
Nuclear fission Spontaneous Products pair breaking Photofission
Capturing processes electron 2× neutron s r proton p rp
High-energy processes Spallation by cosmic ray Photodisintegration
Nucleosynthesis and nuclear astrophysics Nuclear fusion Processes: Stellar Big Bang Supernova Nuclides: Primordial Cosmogenic Artificial
High-energy nuclear physics Quark–gluon plasma RHIC LHC
Scientists Alvarez Becquerel Bethe A. Bohr N. Bohr Chadwick Cockcroft Ir. Curie Fr. Curie Pi. Curie Skłodowska-Curie Davisson Fermi Hahn Jensen Lawrence Mayer Meitner Oliphant Oppenheimer Proca Purcell Rabi Rutherford Soddy Strassmann Świątecki Szilárd Teller Thomson Walton Wigner
Physics portal  Category
v t e

Spallation is a process in which fragments of material (spall) are ejected from a body due to impact or stress. In the context of impact mechanics it describes ejection of material from a target during impact by a projectile. In planetary physics, spallation describes meteoritic impacts on a planetary surface and the effects of stellar winds and cosmic rays on planetary atmospheres and surfaces. In the context of mining or geology, spallation can refer to pieces of rock breaking off a rock face due to the internal stresses in the rock; it commonly occurs on mine shaft walls. In the context of anthropology, spallation is a process used to make stone tools such as arrowheads by knapping. In nuclear physics, spallation is the process in which a heavy nucleus emits numerous nucleons as a result of being hit by a high-energy particle, thus greatly reducing its atomic weight. In industrial processes and bioprocessing the loss of tubing material due to the repeated flexing of the tubing within a peristaltic pump is termed spallation.