28% of the research in physics between 1939 and 2009 has been influenced by accelerator science, and that on average accelerator science contributed to a Nobel Prize for Physics every 2.9 years.
[Source: Haussecker, E.F., Chao, A.W. The Influence of Accelerator Science on Physics Research. Phys. Perspect. 13, 146–160 (2011). https://lnkd.in/d3qjx_3j]
Accelerators have enabled discoveries in several domains ranging from physics to biology and medicine!
"What are accelerators and what they are used for?"
Accelerators are used in several domains:
Basic Research
- particle physics
- nuclear physics
- atomic physics
- cosmology and astrophysics
- radiation chemistry
- radiation biology
Material Science
- solid state physics (ex. crystallography)
- biophysics (ex. protein structure)
- geophysics (ex. dating)
- elemental composition
Material Processing
- polymerization
- surface wear improvement
- welding
- cutting
- semiconductor doping
- semiconductor microlithography
- food sterilization
- medical device sterilization
- gemstone production
Inspection
- manufacturing quality assurance (ex. MV CT of solid rocket engine)
- security (ex. explosive detection)
- impurity detection (ex. trace element analysis)
Clinical Medicine
- x ray beam teletherapy
- electron beam teletherapy
- ion beam teletherapy
- fast neutron beam teletherapy
- neutron capture therapy
- x ray beam imaging
- ion beam imaging
- radioisotope production for imaging
- radioisotope production for therapy
Spacecraft Propulsion
- ion beam
- plasma
- fusion
Energy Production
- geological resource exploration
- pulsed fission reactors
- fusion
- biofuel pretreatment
Environmental Protection
- sewage treatment
- medical waste treatment
- radioactive waste transmutation
- power plant gas emission
- oil sludge treatment