How To Trap Particles in a Particle Accelerator
In particle accelerators, beams of particles are focused and fired forward at almost the speed of light. But how are those particles controlled? With the help of two visual demonstrations,...
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Particle accelerators are machines that take electric and magnetic fields, and use them to accelerate beams of particles to almost the speed of light. Controlling and focusing beams like that is a bit of a challenge, but it we can do it, we can use them not just for scientific research, but also say, in hospitals to generate x-rays and proton beams for cancer treatment, and loads of other industries as well. This is a very visual demonstration of how we can control and focus particles. It's called a Paul trap, after the inventor Wolfgang Paul. Imagine you're riding on a beam of particles in an accelerator. This saddle shape is analogous to the effect of the magnetic field as it comes up to a focusing magnet. If it's too far over to one side, it&...
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Particle accelerators are machines that take electric and magnetic fields, and use them to accelerate beams of particles to almost the speed of light. Controlling and focusing beams like that is a bit of a challenge, but it we can do it, we can use them not just for scientific research, but also say, in hospitals to generate x-rays and proton beams for cancer treatment, and loads of other industries as well. This is a very visual demonstration of how we can control and focus particles. It's called a Paul trap, after the inventor Wolfgang Paul. Imagine you're riding on a beam of particles in an accelerator. This saddle shape is analogous to the effect of the magnetic field as it comes up to a focusing magnet. If it's too far over to one side, it&...
