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.
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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”.
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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.