KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA

ODF EDDUMAILARAM

SESSION 2022-23
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT WORK

CYCLOTRON

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
S.NARSIMHA RAO M.YUGNESH
XII PHYSICS
11

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 INDEX
* Certificate
*Acknowledgement
*Aim of Project
*Introduction
*Principles and Construction
*Theory
*Working
*Limitations
*Uses
*Bibliography

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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that

M.YUGNESH, a student of class XII,

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA has successfully
completed the project titled Cyclotron
during -the academic year 2022-2023
towards partial fulfillment of physics
practical examination conducted by
CBSE.

Teacher Signature Principal Signature

External Examiner Signature

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my physics teachers
S.NARSIMHA RAO , whose valuable
guidance has been the ones that helped me patch
this project and make if full proof success their
suggestions and their instructions had served as
the major contributor towards the completion of
the project.

Then I would like to thank my parents and friends

who have helped me with their valuable
suggestions and guidance has been helpful in
various phases of the completion of the project.
Last but not the least I would like to thank my
classmates who have helped me a lot.

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 AIM OF PROJECT
To give a brief description about
CYCLOTRON

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 INTRODUCTION
A Cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by
Ernest O. Lawrence in 1934 in which charged particles
accelerate outwards from the center along a spiral path.
The particles are held to a spiral trajectory by a static
magnetic field and accelerated by a rapidly varying
electric field.

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 Principles and Construction

Principle:
Cyclotron works on the principle that a charged
particle moving normal to a magnetic field
experiences magnetic Lorentz force due to which
the particle moves in a circular path.
Construction:
As shown in Fig, a cyclotron consists of the
following main parts:
1.It consists of two small, hollow, metallic
halfcylinders D1 and D2, called Dees as they are in
the shape of D.
2.They are mounted inside a vacuum chamber
between the poles of a powerful electromagnet.
3.The Dees are connected to the source of high
frequency alternating voltage of few hundred
kilovolts.

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4.The beam of charged particles to be accelerated
is injected into the Dees near their center, in a
plane perpendicular to the magnetic field.
5.The charged particles are pulled out of the Dees
by a deflecting plate (which is negatively charged)
through a window W.
6.The whole device is in high vacuum (pressure
~10-6 mm of Hg) so that the air molecules may not
collide with the charged particles.

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 THEORY
The positive ion P to be accelerated is placed in between
the two dees. If at any instant, D1 is at negative potential
and D2 is at positive potential, then the ion gets accelerated
towards D1 but since its perpendicular to B, it describes a
circular path of radius r and Lorentz force provides the
centripetal force.

Time taken to describe a semicircle is

If this time is equal to the time during which D1 and D2

change their polarity, the ion gets accelerated when it
arrives in between the gaps. The electric field accelerates
the ion further. Once the ion is inside the dee D2, it now
describes a greater semicircle due to the magnetic field.
This process repels and the ion goes on describing a circular path
of greater radius and finally acquires a high energy. The ion is
further removed from a window W. The maximum energy
acquired by the ion source is
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This process repels and the ion goes on describing a
circular path of greater radius and finally acquires a high
energy. The ion is further removed from a window W. The
maximum energy acquired by the ion source is

The frequency of cyclotron is

given

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 WORKING
When a positive ion of charge q and mass m is emitted
from the source, it is accelerated towards the Dee having
a negative potential at that instant of time. Due to the
normal magnetic field, the ion experiences magnetic
Lorentz force and moves in a circular path. By the time the
ion arrives at the gap between the Dees, the polarity of
the Dees gets reversed. Hence the particle is once again
accelerated and moves into the other Dee with a greater
velocity along a circle of greater radius. Thus the particle
moves in a spiral path of increasing radius and when it
comes near the edge, it is taken out with the help of a
deflector plate (D.P). The particle with high energy is now
allowed to hit the target T.

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 LIMITATIONS
. Cyclotron cannot accelerate uncharged particles
like neutrons.
. Cyclotron cannot accelerate electrons because
of its small mass.
. It cannot accelerate positively charged particles
with large mass due to relativistic effect.
. Only when the speed of the circulating ion is less
than 'c' the speed of light, we find the frequency
of revolution to be independent of its speed.
. At higher speeds, the mass of the ion will
increase and this changes the time period of the
ion revolution. This results in the ion lagging
behind the electric field and it eventually loses
by collisions against the walls of the dees.
. The cyclotron is suitable for accelerating heavy
charged particles.
. It is not suited for very high kinetic energy.

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 USES
 The high energy particles produced in
a cyclotron are used to bombard nuclei and
study the resulting nuclear reactions and
hence investigate nuclear structure.
 The high energy particles are used to
produce other high energy particles, such as
neutrons, by collisions. These fast neutrons
are used in atomic reactors.
 It is used to implant ions into solids and
modify their properties or even synthesis
new materials

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 Bibliography
@Physics Pradeep class 12
@Google
@Wikipedia
@Science for all
@Brainkart.com

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