DISCUSSION 55 



energy level to another involving just the fastest transitions, and these are the 

 ones with the smallest internal conversion. Even if there should be a slow step 

 in the sequence, this would usually have appreciable probability of conversion 

 only if it were also a low-energy transition, so that the recoil energy even from 

 internal conversion would be small and would influence the final spectrum of 

 recoil energies (which almost always include the effects of some high-energy 

 gamma rays) in only a minor way. To summarize, internal conversion of capture 

 gamma rays is a factor which will certainly affect the distribution of recoil 

 energies resulting from neutron capture; whether it is an importarit factor for any 

 atom is not yet known. 



