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particle accelerator

particle accelerator

11 5.5
A machine that makes tiny charged particles move faster for science or medicine
  • noun
  • /ˈpɑrtɪkl əkˈsɛləˌreɪtər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : acelerador de partículas
  • And so CERN developed a whole series of what we call particle accelerators or scattering experiments, which basically is really simple.
  • a powerful particle accelerator
  • a high-energy particle accelerator
  • a large particle accelerator

And the sun is a huge particle accelerator.

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Examples

  • Could a physicist falsify this theory by playing around with cloud chambers or particle accelerators?

    Blog text (21)
  • You create them with a particle accelerator.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Even the most powerful particle accelerators on Earth cannot create these conditions.

    Academic text (2005)
  • But being so complex and powerful, particle accelerators also demand extreme care and caution.

  • If our particle accelerators fail us, the Universe can be our laboratory.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The applications include plasma source ion implantation, particle accelerators, and semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing.

    Academic text (1998)
  • On Earth, only particle accelerators such as synchrotrons are capable of accelerating electrons to such high speeds.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Recently, archaeologists have joined physicists, biologists, and materials scientists who use the particle accelerator to examine objects at a molecular scale.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Since its launch in 2008, the international Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has been exploring natural particle accelerators and the interactions of high-energy particles in the universe.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The Large Hadron Collider is a famous particle accelerator that helps scientists explore the fundamental components of matter.

Synonyms

accelerator
vsparticle accelerator
  • Specialized
48 7.1

A machine that makes particles move faster for scientific study

includes medical uses as well as scientific research
atom smasher
vsparticle accelerator
  • Informal
2 6.0

A large machine scientists use to make tiny particles move very fast and hit each other

focuses on increasing speed for research and medical use rather than causing collisions

How Powerful

collider
  • Specialized
12 9.1
synchrotron
  • Specialized
2 9.9
cyclotron
  • Specialized
3 9.9
particle accelerator
  • Specialized
11 5.5
linear accelerator
  • Specialized
1 7.0
Van de Graaff generator
  • Specialized
8.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

particle + accelerator

The compound is transparently built from 'particle' (a tiny physical bit) and 'accelerator' (a device that makes something faster), so the meaning 'a machine that speeds up particles' is directly derivable from the parts. This noun–noun compounding is a common, regular formation cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The name particle accelerator is very literal: it describes a machine that makes tiny particles go faster, and the word accelerator means 'to speed up'. So, the name reminds us that the machine increases the 'speed' and 'energy' of particles for science and medical work.