Distribution of mean time intervals between successive neutron counts for different phenomena and power law forms

Power laws appear widely in natural and man-made phenomena. However, there is a lack of studies on power law behavior in nuclear science and engineering. This study deals with a power law relation between the unfolded quantities based on the mean time between detected neutron events of different origins and at different time scales. It was shown that the mean time between successive neutron events due to the neutron background decreases with increasing altitudes and decreases with increasing mass of Pu sample. The results obtained for the Pu samples showed that the distribution of the unfolded quantities in a log–log plot is unchanged except for a multiplicative constant and the existence of power law form. The empirical data on the mean time intervals between neutron counts and altitudes in a range from 251 up to 2076 m above sea level follow approximately a straight line in a log–log plot. However, it was difficult to establish power law behavior unambiguously due to limitations in data acquisition and large fluctuations around the straight line. Based on the available data for a wider range of altitudes in different geographical regions and the neutron counting rates, it was shown that the data for higher altitudes follow a power law relation. A power law behavior of the observed data showed a connection with seemingly unrelated phenomena.