14 hours ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China builds portable neutron gun powered by hydrogen-lithium nuclear reaction
Researchers from
China 's northwestern military-industrial hub have achieved controlled nuclear reactions between hydrogen and lithium in a compact device for the first time.
Advertisement
The feat marks a significant breakthrough in neutron generation technology with implications for
scientific , industrial and
defence applications.
Unlike previous designs requiring massive accelerators, this powerful but portable particle gun harnesses a novel electromagnetic technique to smash hydrogen protons into lithium atoms to achieve nuclear fusion with unprecedented efficiency, producing a nail-size beam with 10 billion fast neutrons generated per second.
Each neutron packs 3 million electron volts of energy – similar to particles emitted during an atomic
bomb explosion
Neutrons are tiny particles inside atoms, with no electric charge. Their neutrality lets them slip through materials like an 'atomic flashlight'.
Advertisement
