How does a particle accelerator work?
Overview of how particle accelerators work.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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© World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Alan Alda discussing the work of Marie Curie, the subject of his 2011 play Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie.
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Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved. www.qa-international.comAstronomers use the electromagnetic spectrum to study different aspects of the Milky Way.
Transcript
Have you ever had an X-ray?
If so, you probably encountered a particle accelerator!
A particle accelerator produces a beam of electrically charged atomic or subatomic particles. All particle accelerators must satisfy the five principles of particle acceleration:
generating,
accelerating,
guiding,
colliding,
and detecting.
Let's take a look! First, a source must generate electrically charged particles--electrons, protons, or ions.
Next, the particles need to be accelerated.
An electric field is used to increase their speed by attracting or repelling them across a linear or circular vacuum pipe.
Once accelerated, the particles are guided by magnetic fields.
These force the particles along a straight path or bend them through a circular path. The speeding particles then either collide with a beam of particles moving in the opposite direction or strike a particular target.
Last, particle detectors reveal and record the scattered particles and the radiation produced from the collision. So, your X-ray image was produced by a beam of electrons accelerated and guided through a linear particle accelerator until they collided with a target to produce detectable X-ray beams!
If so, you probably encountered a particle accelerator!
A particle accelerator produces a beam of electrically charged atomic or subatomic particles. All particle accelerators must satisfy the five principles of particle acceleration:
generating,
accelerating,
guiding,
colliding,
and detecting.
Let's take a look! First, a source must generate electrically charged particles--electrons, protons, or ions.
Next, the particles need to be accelerated.
An electric field is used to increase their speed by attracting or repelling them across a linear or circular vacuum pipe.
Once accelerated, the particles are guided by magnetic fields.
These force the particles along a straight path or bend them through a circular path. The speeding particles then either collide with a beam of particles moving in the opposite direction or strike a particular target.
Last, particle detectors reveal and record the scattered particles and the radiation produced from the collision. So, your X-ray image was produced by a beam of electrons accelerated and guided through a linear particle accelerator until they collided with a target to produce detectable X-ray beams!
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