Neutron Weapon Using The Farnsworth Hirsch Fusor?

Question

Would it be possible to scale up the Farnsworth–Hirsch Fusor and then power it with Flux Compressing Generators in order to release a large amount of neutrons. Could this make for a short range neutron weapon ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusor

Answer 1

No matter how you energize neutrons their trajectory cannot be controlled, they have no charge so neither electric or magnetic fields could accomplish the task and of course physical entities would be disintegrated by high energy neutrons.

Perhaps a system that aligned the atoms before fusion could accomplish some orderly disbursement, however it seems like a lot of trouble when all you are trying to accoplish is the oblteration of living beings.

I do believe it would however be fairly simple to construct a nuclear bullet in the fifty caliber range.

Answer 2

Probably not.

Neutrons, on their own, can't really do much damage unless you can accelerate them to a very, very high speed. And you can't accelerate them because they have no electric charge.

Plus, If you want a neutron source, it would probably be a lot easier just to get a lot of radioactive materials in one place. You'd get all the neutrons without all the hassle.

Answer 3

Maybe, but the technology is 20 years off!

Answer 4

You'd be better off using a charged particle accelerator weapon system (C-PAWS).