Cyclotron 418-cyclotron-diagram-dixon – In a cyclotron, or toroidal particle collider, such as the LHC in Geneva, streams of protons are accelerated in oppoisite directions by magnetic fields and then are deflected to collide head-on. A technical three-dimensional diagram illustrating subatomic particle acceleration within a circular ring accelerator or synchrotron. The cutaway view reveals two counter-rotating particle beams, represented by illuminated orange and blue trajectories, traveling through a toroidal vacuum chamber wrapped in electromagnetic focusing coils. The beams converge at a designated collision point surrounded by an array labeled "DETECTORS," where a high-energy particle impact event is visualized.The resulting burst of sub-atomic particles tells us much about the nature of the universe. Digital, for Scientific American, 2005.
418-cyclotron-diagram-dixon – In a cyclotron, or toroidal particle collider, such as the LHC in Geneva, streams of protons are accelerated in oppoisite directions by magnetic fields and then are deflected to collide head-on. A technical three-dimensional diagram illustrating subatomic particle acceleration within a circular ring accelerator or synchrotron. The cutaway view reveals two counter-rotating particle beams, represented by illuminated orange and blue trajectories, traveling through a toroidal vacuum chamber wrapped in electromagnetic focusing coils. The beams converge at a designated collision point surrounded by an array labeled "DETECTORS," where a high-energy particle impact event is visualized.The resulting burst of sub-atomic particles tells us much about the nature of the universe. Digital, for Scientific American, 2005.
Click to open this image within the album!