betatron

American  

[bey-tuh-tron, bee-] / ˈbeɪ təˌtrɒn, ˈbi- /

noun

Physics.

1. an accelerator in which electrons are accelerated to high energies by an electric field produced by a changing magnetic field.

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betatron British  

/ ˈbiːtəˌtrɒn /

noun

1. a type of particle accelerator for producing high-energy beams of electrons, having an alternating magnetic field to keep the electrons in a circular orbit of fixed radius and accelerate them by magnetic induction. It produces energies of up to about 300 MeV

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betatron Scientific  

/ bā′tə-trŏn′ /

1. A type of particle accelerator that uses changing magnetic fields to accelerate electrons. Energies of several hundred million electron volts can be achieved in a betatron.

2. See also particle accelerator

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Etymology

Origin of betatron

1940–45; beta ( beta particle ) + -tron

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, armed with their 100,000,000-volt betatron and other high-voltage machines, its scientists are studying the "meson," a mysterious, sub-atomic particle which may hold the key to a revolutionary course of atomic power.

From Time Magazine Archive

Doctors feel that the betatron has shown remarkable promise in brain cancer; of six cases treated, only one has died.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yet only four of the betatron patients are known to have died of cancer; eight have died from other causes not directly related to cancer.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the Illinois betatron, the electrons circle a nine-foot, doughnut-shaped tube 140,000 times in four one-thousandths of a second, reach a speed only one-millionth part less than the speed of light.

From Time Magazine Archive

Said Professor Donald William Kerst, developer of the betatron and builder of the Illinois machine: "We are in business, making mesons."

From Time Magazine Archive