synchrotronn.
/ˈsɪŋkrəʊtrɒn/ Physics.
An accelerator in which electrons or protons gain energy from an alternating electric field as they travel round a closed orbit in a magnetic field, the strength of this field (and in the case of protons, the frequency of the electric field) being increased to keep the radius of the path constant as the particles gain mass relativistically. Also transferred.
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > particle accelerator > [noun] > types of > synchrotron
synchrotron1945
1945 E. M. McMillan in Physical Rev. 68 143/2 (heading) The synchrotron—a proposed high energy particle accelerator.
1947 Proc. Physical Soc. 59 677 (heading) Theory of the proton synchrotron.
1950 Engineering 24 Mar. 332/2 A new electron synchrotron..at work on problems of photo~disintegration and pair production.
1971 Sci. Amer. July 79/1 The Crab Nebula is a cosmic synchrotron, permeated by electrons with energies of 1,000 billion electron volts or even higher.
1977 J. D. Lawson Physics of Charged-particle Beams ii. 79 Large synchrotrons consist of a sequence of magnets arranged in a ring separated by ‘straight sections’, which may not all be of the same length.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
synchrotron emission n.
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1962 C. Susskind Encycl. Electronics 275/2 The visible continuum of the Crab nebula has been accepted as synchrotron emission.
1978 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner University Astron. xxiv. 594 Continuum radio radiation can be generated by any of several processes. One of the most important is synchrotron emission, the process that produces the radiation from Taurus A.
synchrotron mechanism n.
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1956 Astrophysical Jrnl. 123 550 The synchrotron mechanism..beautifully explains the radiation and polarization of the continuum of the Crab Nebula.
synchrotron process n.
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1962 C. Susskind Encycl. Electronics 275/2 As few as 10−4 relativistic electrons per cubic centimeter, emitting by the synchrotron process in a field of 10−5 gauss, can explain the observations.
1975 Sci. Amer. Dec. 38/1 When the electrons spiral along the lines of force of the star's magnetic field, they radiate by means of the synchrotron process, emitting radio waves, visible light and X rays.
C2.
synchrotron radiation n. polarized radiation emitted by a charged particle as it spirals at high speed in a magnetic field, as in a synchrotron; the emission of this.
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > particle accelerator > [noun] > types of > synchrotron > polarized radiation from
synchrotron radiation1956
1956 Astrophysical Jrnl. 124 416 (heading) On synchrotron radiation from Messier 87.
1981 J. B. Adams in J. H. Mulvey Nature of Matter vii. 165 The large size of LEP [sc. a synchrotron] is due not to its particle energy but to the need to reduce synchrotron radiation losses and to economize on electrical power consumption.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1945