Criticality of a {sup 237}Np Sphere

A critical mass experiment using a 6-kg {sup 237}Np sphere has been performed. The purpose of the experiment is to get a better estimate of the critical mass of {sup 237}Np. To attain criticality, the {sup 237}Np sphere was surrounded with 93 wt % {sup 235}U shells. A 1/M as a function of uranium mass was performed. An MCNP neutron transport code was used to model the experiment. The MCNP code yielded a k{sub eff} of 0.99089 {+-} 0.0003 compared with a k{sub eff} 1.0026 for the experiment. Based on these results, it is estimated that the critical mass of {sup 237}Np ranges from kilogram weights in the high fifties to low sixties.