What's an accelerator?

A particle accelerator is a machine that accelerates elementary particles, such as electrons or protons, to very high energies. On a basic level, particle accelerators produce beams of charged particles that can be used for a variety of research purposes. There are two basic types of particle accelerators: linear accelerators and circular accelerators. Linear accelerators propel particles along a linear, or straight, beam line. Circular accelerators propel particles around a circular track. Linear accelerators are used for fixed-target experiments, whereas circular accelerators can be used for both colliding beam and fixed target experiments.

How accelerators contribute to science

Accelerators are essential tools of discovery for physics and for sciences that use x-rays and neutrons, a type of neutral subatomic particle. Particle physics, also called high-energy physics, is a field that asks basic questions about the universe. With particle accelerators as their primary tools, particle physicists have achieved a profound understanding of the fundamental particles and physical laws that govern matter and energy.

'Light sources'—circular accelerators producing photons, the subatomic particle responsible for electromagnetic radiation—have been used to make dramatic advances that cut across many fields of research. Today, there are now about 10,000 scientists in the United States using x-ray beams for research in physics and chemistry, biology and medicine, Earth sciences, and many more aspects of materials science.

Medicine

Tens of millions of patients receive accelerator-based diagnoses and therapy each year in hospitals and clinics around the world.

Industry

Worldwide, hundreds of industrial processes use accelerators—from the manufacturing of computer chips to the cross-linking of plastic for shrink wrap.