Isotopes of californium

[11] This isotope produces high neutron emissions and has a number of uses in industries such as nuclear energy, medicine, and petrochemical exploration.

Once a reactor is filled with nuclear fuel, the stable neutron emission from said source starts the chain reaction.

The portable isotopic neutron spectroscopy (PINS) used by United States Armed Forces, the National Guard, Homeland Security, and Customs and Border Protection, uses 252Cf sources to detect hazardous contents inside artillery projectiles, mortar projectiles, rockets, bombs, land mines, and improvised explosive devices (IED).

Instrumentation is lowered into the well, which bombards the formation with high energy neutrons to determine porosity, permeability, and hydrocarbon presence along the length of the borehole.

For certain types of brain and cervical cancer, 252Cf can be used as a more cost-effective substitute for radium.