Neutron cross section according to its neutron cross section and how it reacts to an incident neutron. Nuclides that tend to absorb a neutron and either decay or keep the neutron in its nucleus are neutron absorbers and will have a "capture cross section" for that reaction. Isotopes that fission, are fissionable fuels and have a corresponding "fission cross section". The remaining isotopes will simply scatter the neutron, and have a "scatter cross section". Some isotopes, like uranium-238, have nonzero cross sections of all three. Isotopes which have a large scatter cross section and a low mass are good neutron moderators (see chart
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? The question "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" (alternatively ""How many angels can stand on the "point" of a pin?"") is a reductio ad absurdum of medieval scholasticism in general, and its angelology in particular, as represented by figures such as Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas. It is first recorded in the 17th century, in the context of Protestant apologetics. The question has also been linked to the fall of Constantinople, with the imagery of scholars debating about minutiae while the Turks besieged the