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[[File:KEK Cockcroft-Walton Accelerator (1).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|750 keV [[Cockcroft-Walton accelerator]] initial stage of the [[KEK]] accelerator in Tsukuba, Japan. The high voltage generator is right, the ion source and beam tube is at left]]
An '''electrostatic particle accelerator''' is one of the two main types ofa [[particle accelerator]]s, in which [[charged particle]]s are accelerated to a high energy by passing through a static [[high voltage]] potential. This contrasts with the other major category of particle accelerator, [[Particle accelerator#Electrodynamic (electromagnetic) particle accelerators|oscillating field particle accelerators]], in which the particles are accelerated by passing successively through multiple voltage drops created by oscillating voltages on electrodes. Owing to their simpler design, historically electrostatic types were the first particle accelerators. The two main types are the [[Van de Graaf generator]] invented by [[Robert Van de Graaff]] in 1929, and the [[Cockcroft-Walton accelerator]] invented by [[John Cockcroft]] and [[Ernest Walton]] in 1932. The maximum particle energy produced by electrostatic accelerators is limited by the accelerating voltage on the machine, which is limited by [[electrical breakdown|insulation breakdown]] to a few [[volt|megavolts]]. Oscillating accelerators do not have this limitation, so they can achieve higher particle energies than electrostaticelectric machinesfields.
Owing to their simpler design, electrostatic types were the first particle accelerators. The two most common types are the [[Van de Graaf generator]] invented by [[Robert Van de Graaff]] in 1929, and the [[Cockcroft-Walton accelerator]] invented by [[John Cockcroft]] and [[Ernest Walton]] in 1932. The maximum particle energy produced by electrostatic accelerators is limited by the maximum voltage which can be achieved the machine. This is in turn limited by [[electrical breakdown|insulation breakdown]] to a few [[volt|megavolts]]. Oscillating accelerators do not have this limitation, so they can achieve higher particle energies than electrostatic machines.
However, these machines have advantages such as lower cost, the ability to produce continuous beams and higher beam currents that make them useful to industry, so they are by far the most widely used particle accelerators. They are used in industrial irradiating applications such as plastic [[shrink wrap]] production, high power [[X-ray machine]]s, [[radiation therapy]] in medicine, [[radioisotope]] production, [[ion implanter]]s in semiconductor production, and sterilization. Many universities worldwide have electrostatic accelerators for research purposes. More powerful accelerators usually incorporate an electrostatic machine as their first stage, to accelerate particles to a high enough velocity to inject into the main accelerator. ▼
▲However,The theseadvantages machinesof haveelectrostatic advantagesaccelerators suchover asoscillating field machines include lower cost, the ability to produce continuous beams , and higher beam currents that make them useful to industry ,. soAs such, they are by far the most widely used particle accelerators ., They are used inwith industrial irradiating applications such as plastic [[shrink wrap]] production, high power [[X-ray machine]]s, [[radiation therapy]] in medicine, [[radioisotope]] production, [[ion implanter]]s in semiconductor production, and sterilization. Many universities worldwide have electrostatic accelerators for research purposes. MoreHigh energy oscillating powerfulfield accelerators usually incorporate an electrostatic machine as their first stage, to accelerate particles to a high enough velocity to inject into the main accelerator.
Electrostatic accelerators are occasionally confused with [[linear accelerator]]s (linacs) simply because they both accelerate particles in a straight line. The difference between them is that an electrostatic accelerator accelerates a charged particle by passing it through a single DC potential difference between two electrodes, while a linear accelerator accelerates a particle by passing it successively through multiple voltage drops created between multiple accelerating electrodes with an oscillating voltage.
Electrostatic accelerators are occasionally confused with [[linear accelerator]]s (linacs). While both accelerate particles in a straight line, electrostatic accelerators use a fixed accelerating field from a single high voltage source, while linacs use oscillating electric fields across a series of accelerating gaps.
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