Benchtop Neutron Generator Reaches 175 Counts Per Second After 5-Minute Silver Foil Test
Updated
Updated · Hackaday · May 25
Benchtop Neutron Generator Reaches 175 Counts Per Second After 5-Minute Silver Foil Test
1 articles · Updated · Hackaday · May 25
175 counts per second were recorded after a five-minute silver-foil irradiation, showing the benchtop neutron generator produced measurable neutron activation once the source was switched off.
The device works by ionizing deuterium at 20 kV and accelerating the ions at 100 kV into a titanium target, where fusion reactions occasionally emit free neutrons.
High-density polyethylene slows those neutrons before they strike silver or indium foil wrapped around a Geiger counter tube, letting the induced radioactivity serve as the readout.
Decay curves from the silver test matched a mix of Ag-110 and Ag-108 half-lives, while indium irradiation showed a similar exponential drop, reinforcing that the compact setup was generating neutrons.
Could a small firm's benchtop device disrupt the billion-dollar market for medical isotopes?
With silver now a critical mineral, can amateur nuclear projects survive the global resource squeeze?
As fusion technology shrinks to a desktop, how do we manage the safety and security risks involved?