Particle Accelerator Essay

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I. Definition of particle accelerator * A device that accelerates a beam of fast moving electrically charged atoms or subatomic particles to high energies * A particle accelerator (or atom smasher, in the early 20th century) is a device that uses electric fields to propel ions or charged subatomic particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. e.g An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. * There are two basic types: linear accelerators and circular accelerators. II. Functions/uses of particle a A. low i. Cathode ray tube found in television sets and X-ray generators ii. Ion implanter used in the manufacture of integrated Physics iii. Everyday examples of particle accelerators are cathode ray tubes found in television sets and X-ray generators. iv. These low-energy accelerators generators use a single pair of electrodes with a DC voltage of a few thousand volts between them. v. In an X-ray generator, the target itself is one of the electrodes. A low-energy particle accelerator called an ion implanter is used in the manufacture of integrated circuits. B. high vi. DC accelerators are capable of accelerating particles to speed sufficient to cause nuclear reactions vii. Powerful particle accelerators that are used in experimental physics. viii. DC accelerator types are capable of accelerating particles to speeds sufficient to cause nuclear reactions ix. Cockcroft-Walton generators or voltage multipliers, which convert AC to high voltage DC, or Van de Graaff generators that use static electricity carried by belts x. powerful particle accelerators that are used for experimental particle physics. xi. RHIC, Large Hadron Collider, Tevatron III.parts * Inside a Particle Accelerator *

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