An experimental quantification of the NOX production efficiency of energetic alpha particles in air

An experimental study on the production of NOX by alpha particles impact in air at atmospheric pressure is presented. A mixed radioactive source of 208Po and 209Po with an integrated activity of 9.6 MBq over a solid angle of 2π and an average alpha particle energy of 4.5 MeV was used for ionization of atmospheric air in an airtight chamber and the NOX production was measured by the chemiluminescence method. The NOX production rate is found to be about 1.2 NOX molecules per ion-pair. The NOX production efficiency per Joule of dissipated energy is calculated to be 20×1016 NOX molecules per Joule. This efficiency is comparable to that of hot laboratory sparks discharges.