An amateur nuclear physicist built a benchtop neutron generator using a linear particle accelerator inside an evacuated glass tube. The device ionizes deuterium gas and accelerates ions into a titanium target, triggering nuclear fusion that produces free neutrons. These neutrons are slowed by polyethylene and used to activate silver or indium foils, which are then measured with a Geiger counter. The build uses a 20 kV ionization supply and a 100 kV acceleration supply, with an oil diffusion pump maintaining vacuum. Measurements confirmed the generator worked, producing 175 counts per second from irradiated silver foil and revealing a mixture of Ag-108 and Ag-110 isotopes based on decay curves.
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