What is Accelerator: Definition and 218 Discussions
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams.Large accelerators are used for basic research in particle physics. The largest accelerator currently operating is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland, operated by the CERN. It is a collider accelerator, which can accelerate two beams of protons to an energy of 6.5 TeV and cause them to collide head-on, creating center-of-mass energies of 13 TeV. Other powerful accelerators are, RHIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and, formerly, the Tevatron at Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois. Accelerators are also used as synchrotron light sources for the study of condensed matter physics. Smaller particle accelerators are used in a wide variety of applications, including particle therapy for oncological purposes, radioisotope production for medical diagnostics, ion implanters for manufacture of semiconductors, and accelerator mass spectrometers for measurements of rare isotopes such as radiocarbon. There are currently more than 30,000 accelerators in operation around the world.There are two basic classes of accelerators: electrostatic and electrodynamic (or electromagnetic) accelerators. Electrostatic accelerators use static electric fields to accelerate particles. The most common types are the Cockcroft–Walton generator and the Van de Graaff generator. A small-scale example of this class is the cathode ray tube in an ordinary old television set. The achievable kinetic energy for particles in these devices is determined by the accelerating voltage, which is limited by electrical breakdown. Electrodynamic or electromagnetic accelerators, on the other hand, use changing electromagnetic fields (either magnetic induction or oscillating radio frequency 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.
Rolf Widerøe, Gustav Ising, Leó Szilárd, Max Steenbeck, and Ernest Lawrence are considered pioneers of this field, conceiving and building the first operational linear particle accelerator, the betatron, and the cyclotron.
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 subatomic particles, rather than a particle and an atomic nucleus.
I know there are about a million of these posts on here comparing EE and physics, but I'm interested in more specific information. I'm currently a biological engineering major who's planning on switching to EE or Physics after this semester. At this point, I'm leaning towards physics because I'm...
Hello, all. I've heard of a few renowned scientists having build small particle accelerators in their garages as teenagers, and I've wondered how I could do the same. Obviously, I'm not looking for anything LHC-scale, but rather a few feet in circumference. I've seen similar projects on the...
A 3.2km linear accelerator(linac) accelerates electrons constantly down the linac,each electron will have 50GeV of energy at the exit point. what is the speed of the electron after going 1m down the accelerator? After electrons exit the linac,magnets are used to curve the electron beams. the...
Hello everyone,
I am designing a linac and I need some help. I would like to have protons as the particles I will accelerate, but for the propulsion I was told that using a magnetron to pulse an intense RF would be good. Will this work?
I've attached a picture of an ion accelerator design I just though of.
The power source can be any constant DC supply; the voltage X would only be limited by the breakdown voltage of the gap at a given pressure.
The pairs of plates are close enough together and large enough that the E field...
I wonder if a simple particle accelerator that can be homemade. Well, I'm asking that because I recently read a book by Prof. Dr. Michio Kaku, "Physics of the Impossible" and he said in his book that he built a particle accelerator in his garage when he was in high school.
I don't understand...
Please refer to the link below for the problem statement and known data.
http://imgur.com/1CQPk
Calculate the velocity of the muons as they leave the accelerator.
From my understanding, I must manipulate the Time Dilation equation in such a way so as to make velocity 'v' the subject of the...
Homework Statement
(a) Consider a 10-Mev proton in a cyclotron of radius .5m. Use the formula (F1) to calculate the rate of energy loss in eV/s due to radiation.
(b) Suppose that we tried to produce electrons with the same kinetic energy in a circular machine of the same radius. In this case...
Homework Statement
You are at the controls of a particle accelerator, sending a beam of 3.60×10^7 protons (mass m ) at a gas target of an unknown element. Your detector tells you that some protons bounce straight back after a collision with one of the nuclei of the unknown element. All such...
Homework Statement
In a certain particle accelerator, a current of 300μA is carried by a 4.00-MeV proton beam that has a radius of 1.30 mm. The mass of a proton is 1.67 x 10-27kg. If the beam hits a target, how many protons hit the target in 3s?
Homework Equations
The only equation that...
It is said that it takes a particle accelerator the size of a milky way to probe the Planck length. But with the resources available in the universe and with other billions year A.D. civilizations out there existing. What if they had created one already. Is there any galaxy out there that look...
I was reading that i certain type of linear accelerator increases in output though time... why would this be? If anything i would have thought it would have been the opposite..
thanks
Hello there!
I study communications engineering and got really fascinated by magnetic fields. I started to do my own bit of "research" or "further understanding" how magnets work, how the field is influenced and what can the field influence.
After doing so I got fascinated by particle...
Hi!
I'm interested in building a particle accelerator... maybe a linear accelerator or a cyclotron.
What do you suggest as a starting project? The linear accelerator or the cyclotron?
About the linear accelerator, is it suitable only for electrons? Is it possible to build a small (and...
Hello!
Long time reader, first time poster. First, I am sorry for my bad English, but I haven`t practiced from a very long time and this is not my native language.
So, I am studing Physics. I and a classmate make DIY projects. We`ve made quite a big list of things - R/C models, tesla coils...
So I'm curious about what kind of jobs a MechE would have at a particle accelerator? I'm planning on Double majoring in Meche And Physics in undergrad, and have hopes of getting Masters in MechE Machine Design and ElecE Power Systems. Any advice on the matter is much appreciated.
Assuming an electron accelerator is firing electrons at a designated location to generate current. Is it possible to block it off before it reaches that location like with an iron shield or somesort. Is there a simpler or harder way to do this and is it possible to block it off completely? Thanks.
Homework Statement
Could someone please fill in the gaps in my knowledge about Linear Accelerators.
The drift tubes are spaced equally apart. BUT the electrons speed up in between the tubes so surely the distance between the tubes should increase as does the length of the drift tubes...
I'm having trouble understanding how a Dynamitron accelerator works.
I found this image online
Would anyone be able to explain how this system accelerates the electrons?
Thank you
Oddly enough, it's for a science fair :)
Anyway, I joined the Science Club at my high school earlier today and I learned that we'll be entering our a science fair, winners of which will go to regionals. I read Michio Kaku's (forgive any misspellings) book Hyperspace and it somewhat motivated...
if i have a giant circular accelerator is it possible to accelerate a metal slug to a kinetic energy greater than the energy applied by anyone of the electromagnets in the accelerator?
I was wondering exactly what a particle accelerator does and also how to make them because I would like to make one for my science fair. But obviously to do this, I need an understanding of particle acceleration. So if you know anything on how to make them that would help! Thanks!
Homework Statement
What fraction of the energy of a rapidly moving proton is not available for inelastic interactions in proton-proton collisions when the target proton is at rest in the laboratory and the energy of the accelerator is (a) 3 GeV (b) 7 GeV (c) 25 GeV (d) 200 GeV (e) 1000 GeV...
Hello,
Lets say we have linear accelerator with
uniform electric field E
and length L.
Lets an electron enters it with high speed v0.
How to calculate speed v the electron will have in output?
Thank you.
This was published in Nature, so it seems credible enough:
http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys2071.html
So could this thing be used to help achieve an Accelerator-Driven Reactor System?
Can this thing generate high-energy light for nuclear applications? Perhaps...
I was wondering if anybody knew of any good paid internship opportunities in the field of accelerator science/engineering or related fields for undergraduate students? They could be located anywhere in the world, but at least accessible for Canadian students. These internships would be...
What is inside the detector in a particle accelerator??
We need E and B fields to steer and focus beams in a particle accelerator, but all the calculations we do in QFT assume (apart from the colliding particles) that we are in the vacuum state. Does this mean there are no fields at the point...
Hi guys I am new, have tried to look for a topic similar to this and have some stuff vaguely relating to the topic but most is due to solenoids and 'dipoles' ?
Ok, for a Physcis EEI i am trying to find the most beneficial arrangement of magnets and ball bearings for a Gauss gun that magnifies...
I have set out to do a project to make my own particle accelerator. As of now, I know nothing and I know I have to do extensive research to know my limitations of what I can and cannot do,etc. Since it's a very large subject, I really don't know where to start my research. Right now I'm not...
The main cause of decay of particle accelerator beams is the scattering due to residual gas particles in the vacuum rings. I read some research suggesting (in my understanding) that most of these free gas particles (CO2, CO etc) are the result of desorption from the surface of the vacuum tube...
I wanted to ask if it was possible to use a high output laser, and for the photons to transfer their momentum to stationary Electrons, and propel them? I found an article about laser particle accelerators, and SLAC was/is working one. They claimed also that phase velocity was an issue. But since...
A beam of hydrogen and antihydrogen atoms is accelerated to relativistic velocities by means of a neutral beam accelerator.
Identical photodetectors gather and record the photon energies of annihilating H and -H at both ends of the accelerator: where the atoms start; and at the end of the...
I've taken a screen shot of the question
[PLAIN]http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/753/73615252.png
I know the answer (I've given it in the spoiler below), I don't understand why that is the answer
Thanks if you can help :)
I am wondering what academic path is ideal for becoming a particle accelerator engineer. Would pursing a masters in particle physics be an effective use of my time? Are there any accelerator engineering programs out there? I currently have a bachelor in engineering physics.
Thanks
Particle Accelerator Problem, proton --> electron positron
He guys, I could use some help on this problem.
[PLAIN]http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2039/physhw.jpg
I got the energy of the photons:
E = 2hc/lambda
Energy of the electron and positron I believe are:
E =...
Hi all,
I am new to the forums, so try to persevere with my general lack of knowledge. I am a student at high school and we have just recently been studying a unit in nuclear and atomic physics. I understand all the basic concepts such as the photoelectric effect, Planck's constant, electron...
What would happen if an electron were accelerated in an attempt to collide with an accelerated proton in a particle accelerator?
What would happen in a collision between an electron and a neutron?
We all know electrical energy is wasted when generators work to provide a voltage potential that goes used. Many different approaches to saving the energy have been proposed (and are being experimented on), such as storing the energy in a rotating drum, or in a superconducting coil.
But what...
I,m trying to put together all the complexities of making a small Linear Electron collider.
Basically it's two crt electron guns on each end of an polycarbonate tube with quadrupole magnet's for focusing. I have a decent idea of the EMR dangers involved. But since I could keep it below a...
Homework Statement
Protons are being accelerated through a potential difference of 5,000 V in the gun of a particle accelerator. They must pass between two parallel deflecting plates that are 0.06 m long and 0.02 m apart with a potential difference between them of 1,500 V
Homework...
Building a Particle Accelerator
Hi,
I just stumbled upon these forums and joined with the hopes that I could seek some help from some more experienced people. Thank you for your time.
http://bigthink.com/ideas/19050
http://bt.pa.msu.edu/pub/papers/steeremsc/steeremsc.pdf...
Here's a video of my homemade electron accelerator, named the Aurora Accelerator. To the best of my knowledge it is the largest homemade accelerator ever built. Check it out, and comment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dc7STQht08&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I'm using a model PN-250 positive ion accelerator from High Voltage Engineering Corporation, and I was wondering how the beam focus works.
The electric field used to accelerate our protons is generated by a stack of ten plates with voltages stepped down by 10 MOhm resistors. The focus...
In case people missed this article, this is a field of physics that needs a lot more free advertisement and enticement to students - Accelerator Physics
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000802
This is a perfect field for someone who can't decide on whether he/she wants to be an...
I want to build a small linear accelerator with an energy level around 2-2.5 MeV and as much beam current as I can get without getting too exotic (but I'll be happy with whatever I can get initially). I will need a means of generating microwave RF with the power requirements, I'm guessing, to...
Firstly, I am sorry if I sound like a moron I only finished 1 year at university before leaving so I don't have the firmest grasp on some of this. I do have a massive facination with nuclear physics and quantum mechanics, string theory etc.
Secondly,
Im looking at building a linear accelerator...
Hello all,
for a normal physicist (a bit with materials science) how easy will be accelerator physics (AP). Is AP is that difficult to work with ?
Is AP is purely applying theory to beam physics ?
How much programming experience needed ?
Is it easy to get a job/postdoc in accelerator physics...