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particle accelerator
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Diagram of a linear proton resonance accelerator, or linac, showing protons entering from a source, passing through a series of labeled drift tubes powered by a radio-frequency source, and exiting as a beam through a cavity.
How does a particle accelerator work?
schematic diagram of a Van de Graaff high-voltage electrostatic generator Labeled diagram of a two-stage tandem particle accelerator showing a cylindrical steel pressure tank with gradient rings, a charging chain, and an accelerating tube. Negative ions enter, pass through a stripping chamber to become positive ions, and are then directed by magnets toward a target. Diagram of a classical cyclotron showing a circular vacuum chamber with labeled dees, ion source, electric field region, and magnetic field. Red arrows trace the spiral path of accelerated particles exiting as a beam toward a target. Diagram of a linear electron accelerator's acceleration chamber, showing a cylindrical waveguide with an electron beam traveling left to right through a series of metal irises that guide the electromagnetic wave. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California schematic diagram of a synchrotron with alternating-gradient focusing
How does the Large Hadron Collider work?
Figure 9: The tunnel of the Main Accelerator at Fermilab. The upper ring of conventional magnets comprise the fourth stage of particle acceleration. The particle beam can then be injected into the Tev
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linear accelerator
particle accelerator summary
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Diagram of a linear proton resonance accelerator, or linac, showing protons entering from a source, passing through a series of labeled drift tubes powered by a radio-frequency source, and exiting as a beam through a cavity.
schematic diagram of a linear proton resonance accelerator The accelerator is a large-diameter tube within which an electric field oscillates at a high radio frequency. Within the accelerator tube are smaller diameter metallic drift tubes, which are carefully sized and spaced to shield the protons from decelerating oscillations of the electric field. In the spaces between the drift tubes, the electric field is oriented properly to accelerate the protons in their direction of travel.

particle accelerator

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Written by
Christine Sutton
Science writer. Research Associate, Department of Nuclear Physics, University of Oxford. Author of The Particle Connection and Spaceship Neutrino.
Christine Sutton
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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particle accelerator, any device that produces a beam of fast-moving, electrically charged atomic or subatomic particles. Physicists use accelerators in fundamental research on the structure of nuclei, the nature of nuclear forces, and the properties of nuclei not found in nature, as in the transuranium elements and other unstable elements. Accelerators are also used for radioisotope production, industrial radiography, radiation therapy, sterilization of biological materials, and a certain form of radiocarbon dating. The largest accelerators...

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