Emilio Segrè coauthored experiments showing that hydrogen-rich material can enhance neutron-induced radioactivity. Placing paraffin wax around the irradiation arrangement changed activation rather than merely shielding the target. Collisions with light nuclei slow the neutrons, altering their subsequent nuclear-reaction probabilities. This made the surrounding material part of the experiment and helped establish neutron moderation as a method for controlling induced radioactivity.[ref]
Azione di sostanze idrogenate sulla radioattività provocata da neutroni. I by Enrico Fermi and others. 1934 communication, collected translation no. 105b, pp. 761–762
A physicist.[ref]
https://www.lbl.gov/people/excellence/nobelists/emilio-segre/. Independent professional profile
Portrait of Emilio Segrè
. Photolab; LBL Collection; 28 April 1954. Public domain in the United States: publication without copyright notice (PD-US-no-notice). Source usage terms, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
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