Linear accelerators use electromagnetic fields to accelerate matter along a linear path. They are commonly used in medicine, industry, and scientific experiments. Linear particle accelerators fire magnetically charged particles, such as ions, electrons, and protons. They are also used in research and industrial processes. The term can also refer to devices that use electromagnetism to propel larger objects, such as coil guns and railguns, which have potential future applications in space travel and weaponry.
A linear accelerator is a device that accelerates matter to high speed by moving it along a linear path with electromagnetic fields. The term is most commonly used to refer to a linear particle accelerator, or linac, that accelerates atoms or subatomic particles. “Linear accelerator” can also refer to devices that use electromagnetism to propel larger objects, such as coil guns and railguns. Linear particle accelerators are commonly used in medicine, industry and scientific experiments, and electromagnetic accelerators for larger objects could have future applications for purposes such as space travel and weaponry.
A linear particle accelerator fires magnetically charged particles. These can be whole charged atoms, called ions, or subatomic particles such as protons and electrons. First, the particle to be accelerated is generated by an electromagnetic device such as a cathode or ion source and released into a tube-shaped vacuum chamber lined with electrodes. The electrodes are then energized to create oscillating magnetic fields that impart energy to the particle and accelerate it down the tube towards the device’s target. The precise arrangement of the electrodes within the tube, the strength and frequency of the energy sent into the electrodes, and the size of the electrodes all vary depending on the particles being accelerated and the purpose of the device.
A simple and very common example is the cathode ray tube, commonly used in televisions, monitors and other display technologies. The cathode ray tube pushes the electrons along the tube until they hit a solid target at the end of the tube made of luminescent materials called phosphors, which are usually composed of metal sulfide. This causes some of the energy from the electrons to be released as electromagnetic energy emission in the wavelengths that the human eye detects as visible light. X-ray machines used in medicine and biological research follow a similar principle, firing streams of electrons into copper, molybdenum or tungsten to produce x-ray emissions that can be used for imaging or, with more powerful devices, radiation therapy .
Linear particle accelerators are also used in scientific research. The small devices are often used for imaging in biological and archaeological research. Linear accelerators used for research vary greatly in size and can grow to truly colossal sizes due to the extremely high energy levels required to produce some of the phenomena studied in modern physics. The largest linear particle accelerator on Earth, located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, is two miles long.
They are also used in some industrial processes. Some silicon chips used in modern electronics are manufactured in a process that incorporates accelerators that propel entire charged atoms instead of subatomic particles, allowing for very precise positioning of atoms during manufacturing. Accelerators can also be used to implant ions into the surface of materials such as steel, altering the material’s structure to make it more resistant to cracking and chemical corrosion.
The term “linear accelerator” is also sometimes used for devices that propel larger objects in a similar way, using electromagnetism to accelerate a projectile along a straight path. These work by running electricity through a metal coil wrapped around the barrel of the device, a design called a coilgun, mass driver, or Gauss gun, or through a pair of metal rails positioned parallel to each other, called a railgun. An object made of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron, can be accelerated along the barrel of the device with the magnetic fields produced by suitably timed electric currents. Coilguns have been proposed as a possible way to launch payloads from the Earth’s surface into outer space, and both coilguns and railguns are being researched as possible weapons.
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