Abstract: A process for making a boron alloy from a ferrous or non-ferrous melt by adding a boron compound to the melt and reducing the compound within the melt by a reductant, such as aluminum, silicon or carbon, such that the boron can alloy with the melt. A boron alloy containing from very little boron up to 15% boron by weight can be formed. At least 40% of the boron compound is reduced to boron.The alloy can also be employed to make an amorphous material by discharging the molten alloy onto a moving surface to form a strip. The moving surface is a chill body which can quench the strip at a rate of at least from 10.sup.4 .degree. C./sec, or higher to solidify the strip and form an amorphous boron alloy material.

Abstract: A process for making a boron alloy from a ferrous or non-ferrous melt by adding a boron compound to the melt and reducing the compound within the melt by a reductant, such as aluminum, silicon or carbon, such that the boron can alloy with the melt. A boron alloy containing from very little boron up to 15% boron by weight can be formed. At least 40% of the boron compound is reduced to boron.The alloy can also be employed to make an amorphous material by discharging the molten alloy onto a moving surface to form a strip. The moving surface is a chill body which can quench the strip at a rate of at least from 10.sup.4 .degree. C./sec, or higher to solidify the strip and form an amorphous boron alloy material.

Abstract: A neutron/gamma ray technique for mapping the distribution of contaminants in an extended medium such as the wall (10) of a building. A neutron excitation source (14) is located on one side of the wall (10) and a gamma ray spectrometer, including a gamma ray detector (16), is located on the opposite side of the wall (10) facing the excitation source (12). The source and detector are moved in unison in discrete steps over opposing wall surfaces (12, 18) so as to determine the chemical composition of the elements in a hemispheric region (20) of the wall adjacent the detector with the radius of the region being substantially that of the mean free path distance of gamma rays emitted from elements interacting with neutrons on the detector side of the wall. The source (14) and detector (16) are reversed for relatively thick walls for mapping the distribution of elements on the other side of the wall thickness.