Electrons play a crucial role in powering many modern technologies, from televisions to X-ray machines, and their energy is often boosted by particle accelerators. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, in collaboration with General Atomics and other partners, is delving into the design, prototyping, and testing of more powerful, efficient, cost-effective, and compact particle accelerators to unlock new applications.
The team at Jefferson Lab, with extensive experience in building advanced particle accelerators for basic research, has subcontracted with General Atomics to explore potential societal benefits beyond basic research applications.
The focus of the research is on superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) accelerator components known as resonant cavities at Jefferson Lab. These SRF cavities are integral to some of the most powerful research machines globally, including Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), which is dedicated to uncovering the underlying structures of protons and neutrons in the atom’s nucleus.
Particle accelerators enhance electrons by providing them with additional energy measured in electron-Volts (eV), thereby accelerating the electrons. These accelerated electrons, similar to those in CEBAF but on a smaller scale, have a wide range of applications, from rendering images on television screens to producing X-rays for medical imaging and environmental cleanup.
While SRF cavities are highly efficient at accelerating particle beams, they can be costly to build and operate, primarily due to their cooling requirements. For optimal superconductive operation, SRF cavities in research machines must be extremely cold, at 2 Kelvin or -456° F, just a few degrees above absolute zero.
2024-03-01 02:00:05
Link from phys.org