Particle accelerator

A particle accelerator is a machine that uses <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic_field/MacraS8y">electromagnetic fields</a> to propel <a href="/facts/Electric_charge/xxsBfmlB">charged</a> <a href="/facts/Particle/JHKr2w6h">particles</a> to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined <a href="/facts/Particle_beam/mg5EIlWb">beams</a>. Small accelerators are used for fundamental research in <a href="/facts/Particle_physics/YgIuyj2t">particle physics</a>. Accelerators are also used as <a href="/facts/Synchrotron_light_source/WgtcYLjP">synchrotron light sources</a> for the study of <a href="/facts/Condensed_matter_physics/EBVI5nmL">condensed matter physics</a>. Smaller particle accelerators are used in a wide variety of applications, including <a href="/facts/Particle_therapy/VNgpabDn">particle therapy</a> for <a href="/facts/Oncology/t2CUAEJQ">oncological</a> purposes, <a href="/facts/Isotopes_in_medicine/p1HJ0Pzo">radioisotope</a> production for medical diagnostics, <a href="/facts/Ion_implantation/PHMokNUf">ion implanters</a> for the manufacturing of <a href="/facts/Semiconductor/zFf3mGTE">semiconductors</a>, and <a href="/facts/Accelerator_mass_spectrometry/kCoug2Um">accelerator mass spectrometers</a> for measurements of rare isotopes such as <a href="/facts/Radiocarbon/Ut8SBNNa">radiocarbon</a>.
Large accelerators include the <a href="/facts/Relativistic_Heavy_Ion_Collider/MhxfcI5h">Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider</a> at <a href="/facts/Brookhaven_National_Laboratory/L2JrG0K1">Brookhaven National Laboratory</a> in New York, and the largest accelerator, the <a href="/facts/Large_Hadron_Collider/XWJCFSqT">Large Hadron Collider</a> near Geneva, Switzerland, operated by <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Collider/j6wTDohV">collider</a> accelerator, which can accelerate two beams of protons to an energy of 6.5 <a href="/facts/TeV/YMT1fqX9">TeV</a> and cause them to collide head-on, creating center-of-mass energies of 13 TeV. There are more than 30,000 accelerators in operation around the world.
There are two basic classes of accelerators: electrostatic and electrodynamic (or electromagnetic) accelerators. <a href="/facts/Electrostatic_particle_accelerator/AMDuVr4w">Electrostatic particle accelerators</a> use static <a href="/facts/Electric_field/tt4MooBs">electric fields</a> to accelerate particles. The most common types are the <a href="/facts/Cockcroft%25E2%2580%2593Walton_generator/2zIWAtRV">Cockcroft–Walton generator</a> and the <a href="/facts/Van_de_Graaff_generator/33gA1Ua7">Van de Graaff generator</a>. A small-scale example of this class is the <a href="/facts/Cathode-ray_tube/8NVGx5C7">cathode-ray tube</a> in an ordinary old television set. The achievable <a href="/facts/Kinetic_energy/aJRxUd4p">kinetic energy</a> for particles in these devices is determined by the accelerating <a href="/facts/Voltage/EN2po6N2">voltage</a>, which is limited by <a href="/facts/Electrical_breakdown/btrl0FPI">electrical breakdown</a>. Electrodynamic or electromagnetic accelerators, on the other hand, use changing electromagnetic fields (either <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic_induction/T36JjtgY">magnetic induction</a> or oscillating <a href="/facts/Radio_frequency/aWku7h4R">radio frequency</a> fields) to accelerate particles. Since in these types the particles can pass through the same accelerating field multiple times, the output energy is not limited by the strength of the accelerating field. This class, which was first developed in the 1920s, is the basis for most modern large-scale accelerators.
<a href="/facts/Rolf_Wider%25C3%25B8e/ARAIs6Yn">Rolf Widerøe</a>, <a href="/facts/Gustaf_Ising/N3XIoKqm">Gustaf Ising</a>, <a href="/facts/Leo_Szilard/VslvyPwI">Leo Szilard</a>, <a href="/facts/Max_Steenbeck/FNn1q631">Max Steenbeck</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ernest_Lawrence/SCFLr21y">Ernest Lawrence</a> are considered pioneers of this field, having conceived and built the first operational <a href="/facts/Linear_particle_accelerator/GIz6Uc4x">linear particle accelerator</a>, the <a href="/facts/Betatron/dguFUEYW">betatron</a>, as well as the <a href="/facts/Cyclotron/Q8APwhWm">cyclotron</a>. Because the target of the particle beams of early accelerators was usually the atoms of a piece of matter, with the goal being to create collisions with their nuclei in order to investigate nuclear structure, accelerators were commonly referred to as atom smashers in the 20th century. The term persists despite the fact that many modern accelerators create collisions between two <a href="/facts/Subatomic_particles/tMEzcTWQ">subatomic particles</a>, rather than a particle and an atomic nucleus.

Particle accelerator open-in-new

Particle accelerator