Editing Neutron source (section)

==Medium-sized devices==

===Dense plasma focus===
The [[dense plasma focus]] neutron source produces controlled [[nuclear fusion]] by creating a dense [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] within which heats ionized deuterium and/or tritium gas to temperatures sufficient for creating fusion.

===Inertial electrostatic confinement===
[[Inertial electrostatic confinement]] devices such as the Farnsworth-Hirsch [[fusor]] use an [[electric field]] to heat a plasma to fusion conditions and produce neutrons. Various applications from a hobby enthusiast scene up to [[Phoenix Nuclear Labs|commercial applications]] have developed, mostly in the US.

===Light ion accelerators===
Traditional particle accelerators with hydrogen, deuterium, or tritium ion sources may be used to produce neutrons using targets of deuterium, tritium, lithium, beryllium, and other low-Z materials.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} Typically these accelerators operate with energies in the > 1 MeV range.

===''Bremsstrahlung'' systems===
In a ''bremsstrahlung'' system, Neutrons are produced when photons above the nuclear binding energy of a substance are incident on that substance, causing it to undergo [[giant dipole resonance]] after which it either emits a neutron (photoneutron) or undergoes fission ([[photofission]]). The number of neutrons released by each fission event is dependent on the substance. Typically photons begin to produce neutrons on interaction with normal matter at energies of about 7 to 40 [[MeV]], which means that [[radiotherapy]] facilities using [[megavoltage X-rays]] also produce neutrons, and some require neutron shielding.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} In addition, electrons of energy over about 50 MeV may induce giant dipole resonance in nuclides by a mechanism which is the inverse of [[internal conversion]] and thus produce neutrons by a mechanism similar to that of photoneutrons.<ref>[http://www.slac.stanford.edu/cgi-wrap/getdoc/slac-pub-6628.pdf Giant Dipole Resonance Neutron Yields Produced by Electrons as a Function of Target Material and Thickness]</ref>