Elements above the atomic number 95 are produced in a particle accelerator by accelerating a small charged nuclei (such as Helium, Boron or Carbon) in a particle accelerator to combine with a heavy nucleus (often of a previously made transuranic element) target. The transuranic elements have short half-lives as the atomic number increases.
The smaller nuclei combines within the target nucleus, creating a new unstable nuclide or radioactive isotope. The high speeds are required to overcome the large electrostatic repulsion between the small nucleus and the target nucleus since both are positively charged. This high velocity can be achieved in a particle accelerator by the use of alternating electric and magnetic fields.
A particle accelerator is a machine …show more content…
The spiral shape of the cyclotron allows for a much longer acceleration path than a straight line accelerator.
The cyclotron body consists of electrodes (they are called dees because they look like the letter D) in the vacuum chamber. This chamber is flat and sits in a narrow gap between poles of a large magnet creating a perpendicular magnetic field. A high frequency voltage is applied across the electrodes as a surge of charged particles is fed into the centre of the chamber accelerating the charged particles whilst attracting and repelling them.
The magnetic field propels the particles spiral towards the edge of the chamber as they gain more energy from the accelerating voltage. The accelerated particles may be used to bombard suitable target materials to produce radioisotopes.
Modern cyclotrons accelerate negative ions towards the outer edge of the chamber stripping the excess electrons off the ions to form positive particles such as a proton which can then be extracted from the cyclotron as a beam. The energy attained by the particle is determined by the size of the vacuum
The smaller nuclei combines within the target nucleus, creating a new unstable nuclide or radioactive isotope. The high speeds are required to overcome the large electrostatic repulsion between the small nucleus and the target nucleus since both are positively charged. This high velocity can be achieved in a particle accelerator by the use of alternating electric and magnetic fields.
A particle accelerator is a machine …show more content…
The spiral shape of the cyclotron allows for a much longer acceleration path than a straight line accelerator.
The cyclotron body consists of electrodes (they are called dees because they look like the letter D) in the vacuum chamber. This chamber is flat and sits in a narrow gap between poles of a large magnet creating a perpendicular magnetic field. A high frequency voltage is applied across the electrodes as a surge of charged particles is fed into the centre of the chamber accelerating the charged particles whilst attracting and repelling them.
The magnetic field propels the particles spiral towards the edge of the chamber as they gain more energy from the accelerating voltage. The accelerated particles may be used to bombard suitable target materials to produce radioisotopes.
Modern cyclotrons accelerate negative ions towards the outer edge of the chamber stripping the excess electrons off the ions to form positive particles such as a proton which can then be extracted from the cyclotron as a beam. The energy attained by the particle is determined by the size of the vacuum