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.
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”.
When concentrated into beams, they become a powerful tool known as a neutron source that can reveal atoms in viruses, find cracks in aeroplane wings or bridges, kill deep tumours or detect explosives in cargo.
