The cyclotron is one of the earliest kinds of particle accelerators, but it is still used at the initial stage of some large and multi-stage particle accelerators. It uses the magnetic force on the moving charges for bending them into the semi-circular pathways between the accelerations due to the applied electric force. By the applied electric forces there is the acceleration of electrons between the Dees of magnetic field region. At the cyclotron frequency, the field is reserved for accelerating the electrons, back across the gaps.
Working of Cyclotrons
The cyclotron is a specific class of the devices that are used for accelerating the charged atomic or subatomic particles, in the constant magnetic fields. The cyclotron has two hollow semicircular electrodes that are mounted back to back and are separated by the narrow gap, in the evacuated chamber that is between the poles of a magnet. An alternative electric filed in terms of polarity is then created in the gaps, by the help of radiofrequency oscillator. The particles that need to be accelerated are formed at or near the center of the device in the gap, and here the electric field causes their propelling on one of the Dees. Then they are guided by the magnetic field in the semicircular path. With time, they are returned to the gap, the electric field is reserved and they are accelerated to the other dee.
Cyclotrons in Modern Age
Nowadays, the cyclotrons are used for the various areas of medical research and there is a range in their size from the tabletop designs to the larger building size. The largest cyclotron is still in the operation at the University of British Columbia in Canada, British Columbia, and Vanocur. The superconducting ring cyclotron is still operational at the Riken laboratory in Japan. Its length is 19 meters and scientists are using them for studying the properties of the particles of the condensed matter. The modern designed particle accelerators can place at the Large Hadron Collider can far surpass this level of energy. They are also known as the atom smashers and they are used to build the accelerate particles very close to the speed of light as the physicist has searched out the smallest pieces of the particles.
There are some accelerators at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, at the Fermilab in the Illions, and KEKB in Japan. These are the complex versions and are highly expensive and their work is all dedicated to understanding the particles that make the composition of matter in the universe.