Linear particle accelerator

The linac within the Australian Synchrotron uses radio waves from a series of RF cavities at the start of the linac to accelerate the electron beam in bunches to energies of 100 MeV.

A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear beamline. The principles for such machines were proposed by Gustav Ising in 1924,^[1] while the first machine that worked was constructed by Rolf Widerøe in 1928^[2] at the RWTH Aachen University.^[3]^[4] Linacs have many applications: they generate X-rays and high energy electrons for medicinal purposes in radiation therapy, serve as particle injectors for higher-energy accelerators, and are used directly to achieve the highest kinetic energy for light particles (electrons and positrons) for particle physics.

The design of a linac depends on the type of particle that is being accelerated: electrons, protons or ions. Linacs range in size from a cathode-ray tube (which is a type of linac) to the 3.2-kilometre-long (2.0 mi) linac at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California.

^ G. Ising (1924). "Prinzip einer Methode zur Herstellung von Kanalstrahlen hoher Voltzahl". Arkiv för Matematik, Astronomi och Fysik. 18 (30): 1–4.
^ Widerøe, R. (17 December 1928). "Über Ein Neues Prinzip Zur Herstellung Hoher Spannungen". Archiv für Elektronik und Übertragungstechnik. 21 (4): 387–406. doi:10.1007/BF01656341. S2CID 109942448.
^ Bryant, P J (1994). A brief history and review of accelerators. 5th General Accelerator Physics Course. CERN Accelerator School. doi:10.5170/CERN-1994-001.1.
^ Mangan, Michelangelo (2016). "Particle accelerators and the progress of particle physics". In Brüning, Oliver; Myers, Stephen (eds.). Challenges and goals for accelerators in the XXI century. Hackensack, New Jersey: World Scientific. p. 33. Bibcode:2016cgat.book.....M. doi:10.1142/8635. ISBN 978-981-4436-39-7.

[1] G. Ising (1924). "Prinzip einer Methode zur Herstellung von Kanalstrahlen hoher Voltzahl". Arkiv för Matematik, Astronomi och Fysik. 18 (30): 1–4.

[2] Widerøe, R. (17 December 1928). "Über Ein Neues Prinzip Zur Herstellung Hoher Spannungen". Archiv für Elektronik und Übertragungstechnik. 21 (4): 387–406. doi:10.1007/BF01656341. S2CID 109942448.

[3] Bryant, P J (1994). A brief history and review of accelerators. 5th General Accelerator Physics Course. CERN Accelerator School. doi:10.5170/CERN-1994-001.1.

[4] Mangan, Michelangelo (2016). "Particle accelerators and the progress of particle physics". In Brüning, Oliver; Myers, Stephen (eds.). Challenges and goals for accelerators in the XXI century. Hackensack, New Jersey: World Scientific. p. 33. Bibcode:2016cgat.book.....M. doi:10.1142/8635. ISBN 978-981-4436-39-7.

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