reactions (also referred to as proton-recoil) - High energy neutrons are typically detected indirectly through elastic scattering reactions. Neutrons collide with the nuclei of atoms in the detector, transferring energy to those nuclei and creating ions, which are detected. Since the maximum transfer of energy occurs when the mass of the atom with which the neutron collides is comparable to the neutron mass, hydrogenous materials are often the preferred medium for such detectors.

Types of neutron detectors