proton synchrotron

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proton synchrotron

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July 13, 2026

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A proton synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates protons to extremely high energies. It uses a combination of a gradually increasing magnetic field to keep the protons in a circular orbit and an alternating electric field to accelerate them.1

The magnetic field strength increases as the protons' momentum grows, ensuring they maintain a constant circular path. Simultaneously, the frequency of the electric field is adjusted to remain synchronized with the protons' orbital frequency. This design allows protons to reach energies of billions of electron volts. Proton synchrotrons are crucial tools in particle physics research for studying subatomic particles. The most powerful particle accelerators ever built are proton synchrotrons.123

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particle accelerator
Proton synchrotrons
The mode of operation of a proton synchrotron is very similar to that of an electron synchrotron, but there are two important differences. First, because the speed of a proton does not approach the speed of light until its energy is well above…
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The mode of operation of a proton synchrotron is very similar to that of an electron synchrotron, but there are two important differences. First, because the speed of a proton does not approach the speed of light until its energy is well above…
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CERN
…particle accelerator known as the Proton Synchrotron (PS; 1959), which used “strong focusing” of particle beams to achieve 28-gigaelectron volt (GeV) acceleration of protons; the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR; 1971), a revolutionary design enabling head-on collisions between two intense 32-GeV beams of protons to increase the effective energy available in…
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…particle accelerator known as the Proton Synchrotron (PS; 1959), which used “strong focusing” of particle beams to achieve 28-gigaelectron volt (GeV) acceleration of protons; the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR; 1971), a revolutionary design enabling head-on collisions between two intense 32-GeV beams of protons to increase the effective energy available in…
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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
…first particle accelerator was a proton synchrotron, a cyclic accelerator with a ring circumference of 6.3 km (3.9 miles). It began operation in 1972 and could accelerate protons to 400 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 400 billion electron volts). In the 1980s a second and more-powerful particle accelerator, the Tevatron, was constructed…
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…first particle accelerator was a proton synchrotron, a cyclic accelerator with a ring circumference of 6.3 km (3.9 miles). It began operation in 1972 and could accelerate protons to 400 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 400 billion electron volts). In the 1980s a second and more-powerful particle accelerator, the Tevatron, was constructed…
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synchrotron
synchrotron accelerates electrons, and the proton synchrotron accelerates protons. These types of accelerators are used to study subatomic particles in high-energy particle physics research. Electron synchrotrons are also used to produce synchrotron radiation. Heavy-ion synchrotrons are used primarily in nuclear physics research.
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synchrotron accelerates electrons, and the proton synchrotron accelerates protons. These types of accelerators are used to study subatomic particles in high-energy particle physics research. Electron synchrotrons are also used to produce synchrotron radiation. Heavy-ion synchrotrons are used primarily in nuclear physics research.
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particle accelerator
History
The large proton synchrotrons that have been built since then all depend on this principle.
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The large proton synchrotrons that have been built since then all depend on this principle.
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