Types of particles accelerated - DOE-HDBK-1141-2001

Radiological Assessor Training

DOE-HDBK-1141-2001

Student's Guide

radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

One electron volt (eV) is the energy gained by an

electron accelerated through an electric potential

of 1 volt.

An electron accelerated across a gap by means

of a 10,000 volt, or 10 kilovolt (kV), potential

difference is said to have gained 10 kilo electron

volts (10 keV) of energy after crossing the gap.

Other energy units commonly encountered at

accelerators are: MeV (1 million, or 106 electron

volts), GeV (1 billion, or 109 electron volts), and

TeV (1 trillion, or 1012 electron volts). These units

of energy are commonly used not only for

electrons, but for all charged particles.

B. Types of particles accelerated

Particles accelerated include:

Electrons

Protons

Nuclei of various elements

C. Types of accelerators

The accelerated charged particle may move in

either a linear (straight line) or in a circular

(curved) path as the result of moving

perpendicular to a magnetic field; these are the

two basic types of accelerators.

1. Linear accelerators

Straight-line accelerators suffer from the

disadvantage that the finite length of flight

path limits the particle energies that can be

achieved.

Module 13 - 2