Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Particle Accelerators

• The Van de Graaff accelerator
• Words to Know
• Linear accelerators
• Circular accelerators
• Cyclotron modifications
• Applications

Particle accelerators (also known as atom-smashers) are devices used for increasing the velocity of subatomic particles such as protons, electrons, and positrons. Although they were originally invented for the purpose of studying the basic structure of matter, particle accelerators later found a number of practical applications.

There are two large subgroups of particle accelerators: linear and circular accelerators. Machines of the first type accelerate particles as they travel in a straight line, sometimes over very great distances. Circular...