linear accelerator

An electron, proton, or heavy-ion accelerator in which the paths of the particles accelerated are essentially straight lines rather than circles or spirals. Also called linac.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

linear accelerator

(Nuclear Physics) an accelerator in which charged particles are accelerated along a linear path by potential differences applied to a number of electrodes along their path. Sometimes shortened to: linac

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lin′ear accel′erator

an accelerator in which particles are propelled in straight paths by the use of alternating electric voltages.

linear accelerator

A device that accelerates charged subatomic particles, such as protons and electrons, in a straight line by means of alternating negative and positive impulses from electric fields. Linear accelerators are used to bring about high-speed particle collisions in order to study subatomic structures. Compare cyclotron.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

linear accelerator - ions are accelerated along a linear path by voltage differences on electrodes along the path

linac

atom smasher, particle accelerator, accelerator - a scientific instrument that increases the kinetic energy of charged particles

microwave linear accelerator - linear accelerator that uses microwaves

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References in periodicals archive

The first part on sale is the switch, carrousel foil (RadParts part number: 22 1593-00/Varian part number: 71-249807), which is used on most high-energy Varian Linear Accelerators, for $26 (originally $35).

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Mothball since 1990, the Positron-Electron Project (PEP) particle accelerator at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) had outlived its usefulness.

Particle physics: Stanford wins a B Factory

This surprising finding prodded a host of theorists to try to explain the result (SN: 4/8/89, p.215) and prompted two independentfollow-upexperiments, oneatcern and the other at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Putting a new spin on the neutron

By comparing what happens when electrons "rotate" clockwise versus anticlockwise along the beam axis, Charles Baltay of Yale University, Martin Breidenbach of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and their collaborators could for the first time study how this difference affects the production rate of Z particles.

Colliding positrons, polarized electrons

The action by Congress added to the sense of unease underlying the Third International Symposium on the History of Particle Physics, held at the end of June at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in Palo Alto, Calif.

Voting against the Super Collider

Prescott of the Stanford (Calif.) Linear Accelerator Center.

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