I recently saw a Cleo Abrams video about particle accelerators and the lead scientist said that they use particle accelerators to create the building blocks for future innovations.
I’m sure advancements have been made only because particle accelerators exist but I don’t know any. Can someone highlight a direct influence particle accelerators have on our daily lives?
In: Physics
Many particle accelerators are doing research purely in nuclear/particle physics. However, almost every major country now builds so-called “light sources” which produce high energy intense beams of light. They are extremely popular and drive a lot of research in biology, solid state, drug research, etc.
I would say the major contribution of the particle accelerators is spin-offs. We developed, for example, the fast, sensitive X-ray detectors that replaced film in most dentists offices. CCD (charge coupled devices) now used in cameras were originally developed for use in physics experiments. Superconducting magnets (especially the design of the wires) was first developed for accelerator work. Now there is a superconducting magnet (MRI) in every hospital in the developed world. Finally, the internet and World Wide Web and electronic publication methods were invented specifically to facilitate the work of high energy physics laboratories.
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