Accelerators Create Matter From Energy Summary

Accelerators Create Matter From Energy Summary

• A variety of particle accelerators have been used to explore the nature of subatomic particles and to test predictions of particle theories.
• Modern accelerators used in particle physics are either large synchrotrons or linear accelerators.
• The use of colliding beams makes much greater energy available for the creation of particles, and collisions between matter and antimatter allow a greater range of final products.

Glossary

colliding beams

head-on collisions between particles moving in opposite directions

cyclotron

accelerator that uses fixed-frequency alternating electric fields and fixed magnets to accelerate particles in a circular spiral path

linear accelerator

accelerator that accelerates particles in a straight line

synchrotron

a version of a cyclotron in which the frequency of the alternating voltage and the magnetic field strength are increased as the beam particles are accelerated

synchrotron radiation

radiation caused by a magnetic field accelerating a charged particle perpendicular to its velocity

Van de Graaff

early accelerator: simple, large-scale version of the electron gun