| Physicists use particle accelerators to study the nature of matter and energy. The massive machines accelerate charged particles (ions) through an electric field in a hollow, evacuated tube, eventually colliding each ion with a stationary target or another moving particle. Scientists analyze the results of the collisions, attempting to probe the interactions governing the subatomic world. (The collision point is usually located in a bubble chamber, a device that records the tracks of ionizing particles as rows of tiny bubbles in a liquid-filled chamber.) The paths of the accelerating particles may be straight, spiral, or circular. Both the cyclotron (spiral path) and the synchrotron (circular path) use an increasingly strong magnetic field to control the paths of particles. Although smashing particles may initially appear to be an odd technique of studying them, particle accelerators have enabled scientists to learn more about the subatomic world than any other device. |
