2. What is it? A particle acceleratoris a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. They are built for different purpose such as radiotherapy, ion implantation, industrial and biomedical researching.
3. The largest particle accelerator in the world? The largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world are : the RHIC the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) at CERN the Tevatron, are used for experimental particle physics.
4. Particle accelerator Particle accelerators can be divided into two groups – the low-energy machines & the high energy ones.
5. Low-energy machines Everyday examples of particle accelerators are cathode ray tubes found in television sets and X-ray generators. These low-energy accelerators use a single pair of electrodes with a DC voltage of a few thousand volts between them .
6. High energy machines These mega machines are capable of accelerating particles to a speed sufficient for a nuclear reaction. These can convert AC to high voltage DC or use static electricity carried by belts.Particle accelerators can also produce proton beams, which can produce proton-rich medical isotopes.
7. Research The LHC at CERN is one of the particle accelerators used for research. It powers up the particles and cause them to travel at extremely high speed, almost the speed of light. Then, the particles collide and cause a massive explosion, destroying the particle itself. The wreckage is then analysed and scientists hope that these wreckage would provide answers to the beginning of the universe.
8. How it works The charged-up particles moving a the speed of light collide with one another and is smashed apart. The different parts shoot out in different directions and the machine is able to identify what these broken parts are. Scientists are able to use these information to shed light on the birth of the universe which is believed to have occurred during the big bang where a single, super-compressed atom breaks apart in an enormous explosion form the universe.
9. Dangers of the experiment According to certain theories, in the highest energy particle accelerators, micro black holes may be formed and thus threaten the safety of the Earth. Luckily, theoretically, these black holes would evaporate extremely quickly or they might grow so slowly that they would not become a treat to the solar system.
