International audienceThe present study explores the relationship between students' views on the nature of science (NOS) and their views of the nature of scientific measurement. A questionnaire with two-tier diagnostic multiple choice items on both the NOS and measurement was administered to 179 first year physics students with diverse school experiences. Students' views on the NOS were classified into four ‘NOS profiles' and views on measurement were classified according to either the point or set paradigms. The findings show that students with a NOS profile which is dominated by a belief that the laws of nature are to be discovered by scientists, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement characterised by a belief in ‘true' values. On the other hand, students who believe that scientific theories are inventions of scientists, constructed from observations which are then validated through further experimentation, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement which is underpinned by the uncertain nature of scientific evidence. The implications for teaching scientific measurement at tertiary level are discussed

The application of a CAEN DT5730 digitizer unit for fast neutron metrology is explored. Measurements were made at the Accelerator for Metrology and Neutron Applications in External Dosimetry (AMANDE) monoenergetic neutron facility of the IRSN, France, over a neutron energy range from 1.2 to 7.0 MeV using a BC501A scintillator. The DT5730 digitizer and an analog system based on NIM electronics and an MPA-3 multichannel analyzer acquisition unit were used, under identical beam conditions, for data acquisition. Several observables were compared between the two systems including the quality of pulse shape discrimination (PSD), neutron energy distribution derived from unfolding analyses, and deadtime effects over a range of beam currents from 0.1 to $5.1~\mu \text{A}$ . The suitability of the digital system for fast neutron metrology measurements both in the laboratory and in workplace fields is discussed.

A NE230 deuterated liquid scintillator detector (25 mm diameter × 25 mm) has been used to investigate neutron energy spectra as a function of position in a water phantom under irradiation by a quasi-monoenergetic 64 MeV neutron beam. Neutron energy spectra are obtained from measurements of pulse height spectra by the NE230 detector using the Bayesian unfolding code MAXED. The experimentally measured energy spectra are compared with spectra calculated by Monte Carlo simulation using the code MCNPX.