Lessons Learned From Nuclear Decay Data Measurements in the European Metrology Research Programme ‘Metro Fission’

Nuclear decay data measurements were performed in the frame of a EURAMET project. Two specific goals were addressed: (1) High-precision measurements of
²³⁸
U alpha-particle emission probabilities and (2) experimental characterization of the shape of beta spectra using cryogenic detectors. In the paper, specific lessons learned from the metrological work are highlighted. This includes effects of source preparation on the quality of alpha and beta spectrometry, the influence of exchange effects on beta spectra and the use of a magnet system to eliminate coincidence effects by conversion electrons in alpha-particle spectra.