Linear particle accelerator: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:58, 3 November 2024

Revision as of 18:26, 22 November 2024

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[[File:Linear Accelerator.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Steel casting undergoing x-ray using the linear accelerator at [[Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd]]]]

The linear accelerator could produce higher particle energies than the previous [[electrostatic particle accelerator]]s (the [[Cockcroft-WaltonCockcroft–Walton accelerator]] and [[Van de Graaff generator]]) that were in use when it was invented. In these machines, the particles were only accelerated once by the applied voltage, so the particle energy in [[electron volts]] was equal to the accelerating voltage on the machine, which was limited to a few million volts by insulation breakdown. In the linac, the particles are accelerated multiple times by the applied voltage, so the particle energy is not limited by the accelerating voltage.

High power linacs are also being developed for production of electrons at relativistic speeds, required since fast electrons traveling in an arc will lose energy through [[synchrotron radiation]]; this limits the maximum power that can be imparted to electrons in a synchrotron of given size. Linacs are also capable of prodigious output, producing a nearly continuous stream of particles, whereas a synchrotron will only periodically raise the particles to sufficient energy to merit a "shot" at the target. (The burst can be held or stored in the ring at energy to give the experimental electronics time to work, but the average output current is still limited.) The high density of the output makes the linac particularly attractive for use in loading storage ring facilities with particles in preparation for particle to particle collisions. The high mass output also makes the device practical for the production of [[antimatter]] particles, which are generally difficult to obtain, being only a small fraction of a target's collision products. These may then be stored and further used to study matter-antimatter annihilation.

Linacs are also capable of prodigious output, producing a nearly continuous stream of particles, whereas a synchrotron will only periodically raise the particles to sufficient energy to merit a "shot" at the target. (The burst can be held or stored in the ring at energy to give the experimental electronics time to work, but the average output current is still limited.) The high density of the output makes the linac particularly attractive for use in loading storage ring facilities with particles in preparation for particle to particle collisions. The high mass output also makes the device practical for the production of [[antimatter]] particles, which are generally difficult to obtain, being only a small fraction of a target's collision products. These may then be stored and further used to study matter-antimatter annihilation.

===Medical linacs===