cyclotron
Americannoun
noun
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A type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles, such as protons and electrons, in an outwardly spiraling path, greatly increasing their energies. Cyclotrons are used to bring about high-speed particle collisions in order to study subatomic structures.
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Compare linear accelerator See also synchrocyclotron See Note at particle accelerator
Discover More
Cyclotrons are now used for special research projects.
Etymology
Origin of cyclotron
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The centre in London is huge, with a vast cyclotron buried five stories underground and powering the proton beam 24 hours a day, Dr Hiley said.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Looking up can make you feel you are within a cyclotron, sucked up like the figures you are watching.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Researchers carefully controlled the initial fuel gas pressure and applied electron cyclotron resonance heating during the startup phase of each discharge.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2026
Last year, the cyclotron was replaced by FRIB’s new, more powerful, $730 million linear accelerator.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 12, 2023
“Everyone had to wait for sufficient vacuum in the cyclotron tank,” recalled Henderson, whose own peculiar mode of relaxation was to play the bagpipes.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
