A linear accelerator, or linac, is a machine that accelerates charged particles, such as electrons, protons or heavier ions, along a straight path using a sequence of oscillating electric fields synchronized so that each stage adds additional energy as the particle passes through it. First developed in practical form in the 1920s and refined through the mid twentieth century, linacs became essential tools of particle physics, used both as standalone research accelerators and as injector stages that bring particles up to speed before they enter a circular accelerator such as a synchrotron. Beyond fundamental physics research, linear accelerator technology is now widely used in medicine, where compact linacs generate the high-energy x-ray beams used in radiation therapy to treat cancer, and in industry for materials processing and the production of medical isotopes.
Facts
Invented YearPrinciples were proposed by Gustav Ising in 1924; the first working machine was built by Rolf Widere in 1928. Measuresthe kinetic energy imparted to charged subatomic particles or ions accelerated to high speed 1 Operating PrincipleCharged particles travel down a line of tubes or a waveguide and gain energy from an oscillating (radio-frequency) electric field applied across each gap in synchrony with the particle's transit; the gaps are spaced farther apart as the particle speeds up so it always sees an accelerating field. 1 Operating Rangeelectron energies up to about 50 GeV in the 3.2 kilometre SLAC linear accelerator 1 Classification
Instrument Class Connections
Precursor To
Cyclotron, Instruments Rolf Widerooe published the first working linear accelerator design in 1928; Ernest Lawrence read that paper and, unable to build a linac long enough for the energies he wanted, folded its resonant-acceleration principle into a spiral path, producing the 1930-32 cyclotron.
Used In
The linear accelerator boosts charged particles to high energy along a straight path, foundational to particle physics from Rolf Widerooe's 1928 design through modern colliders' injector stages.
Sources
1. Linear Accelerator (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia, Linear particle accelerator article, lead section, second sentence (Widerøe/Ising history)
The principles for such machines were proposed by Gustav Ising in 1924, while the first machine that worked was constructed by Rolf Widerøe in 1928 at the RWTH Aachen University.
Wikipedia, Linear particle accelerator article, lead section, first sentence
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.
Wikipedia, Linear particle accelerator article, History section, describing Ising's 1924 design
As the particles gained speed while the frequency remained constant, the gaps would be spaced farther and farther apart, in order to ensure the particle would see a voltage applied as it reached each gap.
Wikipedia, Linear particle accelerator article, History section, SLAC energy figure
Over time, electron acceleration at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory would extend to a size of 2 miles (3.2 km) and an output energy of 50 GeV.
Lede, instrument class
A linear accelerator, or linac, is a machine that accelerates charged particles, such as electrons, protons or heavier ions, along a straight path using a sequence of oscillating electric fields synchronized so that each stage adds additional energy as the particle passes through it.
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