Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » cyclotron

cyclotron

(sī′klō trän′, -klə-)

☆

noun

a circular particle accelerator for positively charged ions (usually protons, deuterons, and alpha particles), normally used to initiate nuclear transformations upon collision with a suitable target: through the combined action of a constant magnetic field with an oscillating electrostatic field across two -shaped, hollow electrodes, it causes a particle to move in an increasingly large spiral path inside the electrodes with increasing kinetic energy and velocity

Origin: cyclo- + -tron

See cyclotron in American Heritage Dictionary 4

cy·clo·tron

noun

A circular particle accelerator in which charged subatomic particles generated at a central source are accelerated spirally outward in a plane perpendicular to a fixed magnetic field by an alternating electric field. A cyclotron is capable of generating particle energies between a few million and several tens of millions of electron volts.

(click for a larger image)