Types of accelerators

As mentioned on the previous page, particle accelerators are devices that

accelerate charged particles using electromagnetic fields.
Particle accelerators can be split into two fundamental types, electrostatic
accelerators and oscillating field accelerators. Electrostatic accelerators, such as
the Cockcroft-Walton accelerator and the Van de Graaff accelerator make use of
what is known as an electrostatic field. Electrostatic fields are simply electric fields
that do not change with time. The main disadvantage of using electrostatic fields is
that very large electric fields need to be generated to accelerate particles to
experimentally useful energies, which would be difficult and dangerous to
maintain. This disadvantage led to the development of the second type of
accelerator: the oscillating field accelerator. This type of accelerator requires
electric fields that periodically change with time. Clever use of this oscillating
electric field has allowed high energy physicists to accelerate particles to
extremely high energies, leading to many key discoveries that shape our view of
the universe.

Main categories of particle accelerators are detailed below.

- The Cockcroft-Walton and Van de Graaff Accelerators

- The Linear Accelerator (Linac)
- The Cyclotron
- The Betatron
- The Microtron
- The Synchrocyclotron
- The Synchrotron
- The Storage Ring Collider
 

The Cockcroft-Walton and Van de Graaff

Accelerators
These accelerators are two types of particle accelerators developed in the early
1930’s, the Cockcroft-Walton accelerator was developed by John Cockcroft and
Ernest Walton at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, and the Van
de Graaff Accelerator was developed by Robert Van de Graaff whilst working as a
post-doctorate research assistant at Princeton in the US. Both accelerators simply
accelerated charged particles by generating very high voltages. The Cockcroft-
Walton accelerator generated a high voltage by creating a complex electrical
circuit called a voltage multiplier cascade, which became known as Cockcroft-
Walton generator. Using their generator, Cockcroft & Walton were able to
generate a voltage of 800kV (800,000V).
This voltage
then
accelerated
protons
along an 8
foot vacuum
tube, where
they then
collided with
a Lithium
target
achieving
the first
artificial
nuclear
disintegratio
n in history.
Cockcroft-
Walton
generators
are still
used in
particle
accelerators
today for
the initial
acceleration
of particles
before they
go on to
larger
accelerators
.

 Cockcroft-
Walton
accelerator. 

The method of generating a voltage in a Van de Graaff accelerator is much

simpler. In fact most people will be familiar with a Van de Graff generator from
their school days.
 A Van de Graaff
accelerator consists of a
large metallic sphere (1)
at the top of an insulating
column. Within the
column is a belt made
from a conducting
material (4 & 5) pulled
taught over two pulleys (3
& 6). One of the pulleys is
attached to an electric
motor driving the belt (6),
at either end of the belt is
a brush of metallic wires
(2 & 7), the lower brush
(7) is attached to a
voltage source which
transfers a charge to the
belt via the brush, the belt
then carries the charge
up (4) to the second
brush which will transfer
the charge to the large
metal sphere known as
the electrode. The charge
build-up generated in the
electrode results in a
potential difference
between the electrode
and the ground.

 A diagram of a Van de
Graff generator.

A particle can be accelerated using this potential difference, from the electrode, to
the ground. A Van de Graaff accelerator is a very big Van de Graaff generator with
an accelerator tube contained within it. By 1933 a Van de Graaff accelerator was
in operation that could accelerate hydrogen ions to an energy of 0.6MeV
(600,000eV).
 Spar
k on
Van
de
Graff
gene
rator

 
The Linear Accelerator (Linac)
The first development in Linear Accelerators came from Rolf Widerøe in 1927
when he built a linear accelerator using an alternating current (AC) voltage and a
series of drift tubes. In an alternating current, the flow of electric charge is
periodically reversed, the flow of electric charge can be thought of as a series of
peaks and anti-peaks of voltage. A charged particle acted on by an AC voltage
would be accelerated from point X to point Y, during a peak, then when the current
is reversed would be accelerated back from point Y to point X, during an anti-
peak.

In his accelerator, Widerøe used a series of drift tubes to shield the particle being
accelerated from the reversed electric field during an anti-peak preventing it from
being decelerated (B). The particle then emerges from the drift tube just as the
field returns to a peak, where it is further accelerated (A). As the particle gets
faster and faster, the drift tubes need to be longer and longer. Indeed the faster
the particle moves, the greater distance it covers in the same amount of time. This
is one of the limiting factors of linear accelerators, they need to be very long for
particles to be accelerated to high energies.
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre (SLAC) is the home of the world’s largest
Linac which is 2 miles long and capable of accelerating electrons and positrons
(the anti-matter equivalent of the electron) to energies of 50GeV
(50,000,000,000eV). The advantages of Linacs over other types of accelerators is
that they are capable of accelerating larger ions than circular accelerators like
those described below, and it is easier to produce high energy electron beams
again as they do not use a circular path. Linacs are still widely used today in
research and in medicine.

The 2 mile long linear accelerator at SLAC. Image credit: Google Earth

 

The Cyclotron
In 1928 Ernest Lawrence of the University of California, inspired by the work of
Widerøe, had the idea of utilizing a curved path for a particle accelerator. A
magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of motion of an accelerated particle will
result in the particle taking a curved path. By studying the simple relationship
between the forces acting on the particle, Lawrence realised that the increase in
the radius of the path taken by the particle is compensated for by the increased
velocity of the particle if the magnetic field, the charge of the particle and the
particles mass remain constant. With this in mind, he built what became known as
a Cyclotron. It consisted of two hollow D-shaped electrodes (1 & 2) alternatively
charged to a voltage by an oscillator (3). The electrodes were separated by a
small gap. When one of the electrodes is charged, a particle is accelerated across
the gap into the other (4), where, under the influence of a magnetic field, it moves
in a semi-circular path back to the surface of the electrode (5). Just as the voltage
has charged the other electrode, the particle is again accelerated across the gap
(6). As the speed of the particle increases, the radius of the semi-circular motion
of the particle increases until the particles are eventually focused out of the
Cyclotron as a high energy beam (7).
 A
basic
diagra
m of a
Cyclot
ron
[note.
The
small
circles
contai
ning a
dot
with
the
letter
B next
to
them
indicat
ea
magn
etic
field
pointin
g out
of the
screen
toward
s the
reader
]. 
Using this design, Lawrence’s first accelerator, built in 1931, was able to
accelerate beams of Hydrogen ions to 80keV. After some modifications to the
original design, Lawrence was able to ramp up the energy of the output beam to
1.22MeV (1,220,000eV) and repeat Cockcroft & Walton’s result of nuclear
disintegration of Lithium by 1932. The Cyclotron became the accelerator of choice
across the world from many years as it was more cost and size effective than
other accelerators.
 Lawre
nce
and
Living
ston
standi
ng
besid
e their
27"
Cyclot
ron.

 
The Betatron
The physical principles governing the Betatron were first described by Widerøe in
a 1928 paper and put in to practice in 1940 by Donald Kerst. The development of
the Betatron was driven by the demand for high energy X-rays and gamma rays
for medical and research use.

The Betatron consists of a

main ring, a doughnut
shaped vacuum chamber,
known as the doughnut
chamber (3), in which
electrons (2 & 5), produced
by an electron gun (1)
within the chamber, are
accelerated. The chamber
is set up between the two
poles of an electromagnet
driven by an AC current
which results in a constantly
changing magnetic field.
The changing magnetic field
means a changing magnetic
flux (a component of the
magnetic field passing
through an area) across the
doughnut chamber which
A basic diagram of a Betatron, with an internal electron gun and an internal target. Image credit: Daniel produces an electromotive
Potter/TIARA
force (6) which will
accelerate the electrons. 

The electrons in the chamber maintain a constant radius of orbit (4) whilst being
accelerated, due to the centripetal force (7) generated by the particle motion, so
long as the magnetic fields satisfy the Betatron principle. Once accelerated, the
electrons are directed out of the doughnut chamber, or inwards, towards a metal
target (8) to produce X-rays. The first Betatron built by Kerst in 1940 was capable
of producing 2.3MeV electrons, but by 1950 he had built a Betatron capable of
producing 300MeV electrons.
 Kers
t
with
his
first
betat
ron
(tabl
e)
and
his
large
r
20M
eV
betat
ron
(behi
nd).
 

The Microtron
The Microtron is a particle accelerator similar to the Cyclotron. However, the
physics governing the design of the Cyclotron is based on classical mechanics
(the physical laws describing slow moving objects relative to the speed of light).
This placed an upper limit on the energy that particles can be accelerated to of
25MeV, as due to the effects of relativity (as described by Albert Einstein), the
mass of particles approaching the speed of light changes. In 1945 Vladimir
Veksler invented an accelerator which by taking into account this change in mass
could accelerate light particles like electrons beyond this upper limit that became
known as a Microtron.
 In a Microtron, electrons are
accelerated from rest in an
accelerator cavity (1), driven
by an AC voltage (2). After
leaving the accelerator cavity,
the electrons, under the
influence of a magnetic field
(3), move in a circular path
back into the accelerator
cavity where they are
accelerated again (4). With
each pass through the
accelerator cavity, the
electrons gain more and more
energy and therefore,
according to Einstein’s
famous equation E = mc2,
A diagram of a classical Microtron similar to Veksler's original mictoron (Credit: BR84, Wikipedia, gain mass (as mass is
Modified: Daniel Potter/TIARA)
equivalent to energy). The
increase in mass results in an
increase in the radius of the
orbit of the electrons (5). 
For electrons to continue to be accelerated, they need to be arriving at the
accelerator cavity at the same time that the AC voltage is at a peak. This is
possible if the electrons, starting from rest, receive an energy increase from the
accelerator cavity on each pass, equivalent to their rest energy (E 0 = m0c2, rest
energy is equivalent to rest mass), and that the increase in the period (the amount
of time taken to complete one orbit) of the orbit after each pass through the
accelerator cavity is equal to an integer multiple of the period of the AC voltage in
the accelerator cavity.
These conditions follow from the algebra in Veksler’s 1944 paper that describe the
physical principle known as phase stability (The American physicist Edwin
McMillan published the same idea at almost the same time and is often credited
with its invention). These conditions can be satisfied by making adjustments to the
magnetic field strength and the energy gain from the accelerator cavity.
 Edwin McMillan
explaining the
concept of phase
stability. 

By taking advantage of phase stability, Microtons were able to accelerate

electrons beyond the 25MeV limit. Microtrons are still in operation today and a
notable example is the Mainzer Mikrotron (MAMI) in Mainz, capable of
accelerating electrons to 855MeV.
 

The Synchrocyclotron
The Synchrocyclotron is a modification of the classic Cyclotron design developed
to overcome the relativistic limitations on the classic Cyclotron as described in the
previous section. The Synchrocyclotron differs from the classic Cyclotron in that
the frequency of the AC voltage does not remain constant, it synchronises with the
orbit frequency of the accelerated particles. Put simply, as the particle energy, and
therefore mass, increases, the time it takes for the particle to complete one orbit
increases, meaning it arrives at the surface of the electrode, where it is
accelerated, less frequently. If the AC voltage also peaks less frequently so as to
match the decreased orbit frequency of the particles being accelerated then the
particle and voltage avoid dropping out of sync and the particles can be
accelerated beyond the relativistic limit of the classical Cyclotron. The first
Synchrocyclotron was a modified Cyclotron completed by researchers at Berkeley.
They found that much lower voltages were needed to accelerate particles than in
a Cyclotron and by 1947 they were able to accelerate Deuteron (an isotope of
Hydrogen) ions to 190MeV and He2+ (an isotope of Helium) ions to 380MeV.

Scientist
s at
Berkeley
with the
184"
Synchroc
yclotron
after
upgrade.

The modified Cyclotron had one of the D-shaped electrodes removed (1). The
particle is accelerated in the same way as in a Cyclotron except that the RF
generator responsible for producing the AC voltage which accelerates the particle
is replaced with a variable frequency RF generator (2) so that the AC frequency
can be synchronised with orbital frequency of the particle. The AC voltage is
applied across the remaining D-shaped electrode (3) and a new deflecting
electrode (4) which is responsible for directing the particle out of the accelerator
and towards a target (5).
 A diagram
showing the
basic design of
a
Synchrocyclotro
n. 

The Synchrotron
The basic principle of the Synchrotron is to maintain the accelerated particles at a
constant orbital radius. This is achieved by synchronising the magnetic field
strength with the energy of the accelerated particles. So, as the particles are
accelerated and gain energy, the magnetic field is increased, keeping the particles
orbit constant. The first Synchrotron to be built was a modified Betatron and was
completed by two English physicists, Frank Goward and D. Barnes. Many
Synchrotrons were built after this and by 1954. Under the leadership of Phillip
Dee, a Synchrotron capable of accelerating electrons to 350MeV was built at the
University of Glasgow.
 The
350Me
V
electro
n
Synchr
otron at
Univers
ity of
Glasgo
w. 

The upper limit to the speed of any object is the speed of light, nothing can travel
faster. Light particles such as electrons begin to approach the speed of light at
fairly low energies. Heavier particles like protons approach the speed of light at
much higher energies (a proton is almost 2000 times heavier), so to produce
higher energy beams, scientists looked to accelerate protons rather than
electrons. Due to the larger mass of protons, accelerating protons in a
Synchrotron is slightly more complicated than accelerating electrons. As the
protons are accelerated, their orbital frequency increases, meaning that the
frequency of the AC Voltage across the accelerator gaps also has to increase.
However, the strength of the magnetic field also has to increase to maintain a
constant orbital radius, so the orbital frequency of the protons, the frequency of
the AC voltage and the increase in magnetic field all have to be synchronised. The
first proton Synchrotron to be completed was the ‘Cosmotron’ at Brookhaven,
finished in 1952 and by 1954 it was accelerating protons to 3GeV
(3,000,000,000eV).
In 1947 whilst working on their electron Synchrotron, scientists working at General
Electric’s Research Labs observed for the first time what became known
as synchrotron radiation. Synchrotron radiation is an electromagnetic radiation,
usually in the X-ray range, emitted by charged particles traveling at relativistic
speeds, forced to take a curved path by a magnetic field. At first synchrotron
radiation was seen as an inconvenience as it caused a loss in energy for the
accelerated particles, however it wasn’t long until its usefulness in spectroscopy
and crystallography was realised and today Synchrotrons are built for the sole
purpose of generating synchrotron radiation.
The development of the Synchrotron led to the construction of large scale
accelerators, as in a Synchrotron the components can be divided in different
sections. The acceleration of the particles and the bending of the particle’s path
can be split meaning that the accelerator, as opposed to being circular, can be
slightly oval shaped (like a NASCAR race track), or like a square with rounded
corners. A particle in a Synchrotron will be accelerated in accelerator gaps whilst
traveling along the straight section, as they would be in a Linac. The particle’s
path is then curved by a magnetic field, taking the particle to another straight
section where it is again accelerated. The particle will go round and round the
accelerator, gaining more and more energy with every revolution. Below is a
diagram of a simple proton Synchrotron.
First protons are accelerated in a pre-accelerator, which could be a Cockcroft-
Walton or Van de Graaff accelerator, a Linac, or in the case of some larger
Synchrotrons like the SPS at CERN even a smaller Synchrotron.
The protons then enter the
Synchrotron via an injector
(1). The protons are then
made to follow a curved path
by bending magnets (2),
which can be either
electromagnets or
superconducting
electromagnets. After leaving
the bending magnets the
protons travel to an
accelerating cavity (3) where
they are further accelerated.
The particles are again made
 to follow a curved path
bringing them to a second
straight section where they
can either be accelerated
again in another accelerator
cavity, or in the case of the
A simple diagram of a proton synchrotron accelerator set-up. Image credit: Antivolt, Wikipedia example below, simply follow
Commons, Modified: Daniel Potter/TIARA
a straight path (4) before
being directed again to
another bending magnet
which will direct the protons
to the second accelerator
cavity (3) parallel to the first.

The synchrotron is an extremely important type of accelerator which is used today

to accelerate electrons, protons and atomic nuclei, in many cutting edge research
facilities world-wide.
 

The Storage Ring Collider

The idea for colliding beams of particles is credited to Widerøe, who talked of the
idea, purely conceptually at the time, of colliding two beams of particles rather
than firing a beam of particles at a stationary target as early as 1943. It wasn’t until
1954 that Kerst independently developed Widerøe’s idea that the potential of this
idea was realised by the scientific community, and the idea for the storage ring
collider was conceived. The first storage ring was built in 1960 by Bruno Touschek
in Frascati and named Anelli di Accumulazione (AdA) but it was too small to be of
much use for research. Today the most famous storage ring collider is the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, at a diameter of 27km and spanning two
countries. It is the biggest experiment ever undertaken in science. The LHC
primarily collides beams of protons and has so far collided beams of protons with
energies of 3.5TeV (3,500,000,000,000eV) resulting in a 7TeV collision. The LHC
is designed so that it can also accelerate heavy ions like Lead to up to 575TeV to
try and replicate the conditions in the early universe, immediately after the big
bang.
Before reaching the Collider Ring at the LHC, particles are first sent through a
chain of particle accelerators. Protons are first accelerated to 50MeV by a Linac
(LINAC 2), before being sent to a Synchrotron called the Proton Synchrotron
Booster (PSB) and then the Proton Synchrotron (PS) itself, where the protons are
further accelerated to 1.4GeV. The next stop for the protons is the Super Proton
Synchrotron (SPS), where they are taken from 1.4GeV up to 450GeV, the protons
are then injected into the main ring (LHC) where they eventually reach their final
energy of 7TeV and are collided. The beams of charged particles travel down two
separate accelerator tubes in opposite directions. The beams can meet in four
locations on the circumference of the 27 km diameter ring, where giant detectors
are placed to study the collisions (CMS, ALICE, ATLAS and LHCb).