Since the neutron is not charged it does not interact via the Coulomb force and therefore does not ionize the scintillation material. It must first transfer some or all of its energy via the strong force to a charged atomic nucleus. The positively charged nucleus then produces ionization. Fast neutrons (generally >0.5 MeV ) primarily rely on the recoil proton in (n,p) reactions; materials rich in hydrogen, e.g. plastic scintillators, are therefore best suited for their detection. Slow neutrons rely on nuclear reactions such as the (n,γ) or (n,α) reactions, to produce ionization. Their mean free path is therefore quite large unless the scintillator material contains nuclides having a high cross section for these nuclear reactions such as Li or B. Materials such as LiI(Eu) or glass silicates are therefore particularly well-suited for the detection of slow (thermal) neutrons.