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Glite Dictionary
cyclotron

cyclotron

3 9.9
A machine that makes small charged particles move very fast using magnets and electric fields
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪkləˌtrɒn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ciclótron
  • Recent additions to the Exhibit Hall website include "Lawrence and the Cyclotron" and "Selected Papers of Great American Physicists."
  • cyclotron frequency
  • cyclotron orbit
  • cyclotron radius

The biggest hurdle for me is that I don't like the blinky light pattern in the cyclotron.

Examples

  • PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Ernest Lawrence (1901-1958) developed the cyclotron, the first particle accelerator to achieve high energies.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The positron-emitting tracer is made by irradiating an element with protons from a dedicated local cyclotron.

    Academic text (2012)

  • How on earth did you build such a small cyclotron?

    Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

  • The Harvard guys, they say the building's too small for the cyclotron.

    Oppenheimer (2023)

  • While this is going, I want to point out the animation on the spinning cyclotron is really nice.

  • Therefore, it seems useless to build cyclotrons of larger proportions than the existing ones.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The gas-filled separator at the Berkeley 88-inch cyclotron is used to search for superheavy nuclei.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The ion beam is accelerated in LBNL's 88-inch cyclotron to 4.5 MeV per nucleon.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Scientists use a cyclotron to accelerate particles for experiments in high-energy physics.

  • The cyclotron can generate a beam of particles used to study atomic nuclei.

Synonyms

accelerator
vscyclotron
  • Specialized
48 7.1

A machine that makes particles move faster for scientific study

names the specific device that uses those magnetic and electric field methods
particle accelerator
vscyclotron
  • Specialized
11 5.5

A machine that makes tiny charged particles move faster for science or medicine

is a specific machine using fixed magnetic and fast electric fields for physics
synchrotron
vscyclotron
  • Specialized
2 9.9

A large machine that makes tiny particles move very fast to study materials

uses a constant magnetic field with rapidly changing electric force instead
atom smasher
vscyclotron
  • Informal
2 6.0

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

aims to cause particle collisions rather than describing specific field methods
bevatron
vscyclotron
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A large machine that speeds up protons for physics experiments

accelerates charged particles but not specifically to those extremely high energies
synchrocyclotron
vscyclotron
  • Specialized
9.9

A machine that makes charged particles go almost as fast as light by changing the frequency of electric pulses

uses a steady frequency and rapid electric changes instead of frequency shifts

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

cyclotron singular
cyclotrons plural

Morphology

cyclotron = cycle (semi-transparent) = cycle + tron

The first element 'cycle' is a common English word, but the suffix 'tron' (an instrument-forming combining form) is technical and not familiar to average learners.

Etymology

The word cyclotron comes from Greek parts cyclo- ('circle') and -tron ('instrument' or 'device'). Think of a bicycle going round and round: a cyclotron makes tiny particles move in circles, so the name literally means a 'circle machine'.