Particle Accelerator

Name:
Particle Accelerator
Detailed information:
A device in which the speed of charged subatomic particles (protons, electrons) and heavier particles (deuterons, alpha particles) can be greatly increased by application of electric fields of varying intensity, often in conjunction with magnetic fields. It is possible to accelerate electrons and protons to speeds approaching the speed of light if sufficiently high voltage is used. Straight-line (linear) accelerators are used for protons, and doughnut-shaped betatrons for electrons; other types are the Van de Graaf electrostatic generator, the synchrotron, and the cyclotron. Before the development of nuclear reactors, the cyclotron was used to accelerate deuterons for use in bombarding stable nuclei to produce neutrons for inducing artificial radioactivity, fission, and formation of synthetic (transuranic) elements.See Betatron; Cyclotron.