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Acceleration of uranium at the bevalac.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 17, 1982
Summary
The Bevalac accelerator can now accelerate any element to high energies, exceeding 1 billion electron volts per atomic mass unit. This was confirmed by successfully producing a uranium beam at 147.7 million electron volts per atomic mass unit.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Particle Accelerators
Background:
- The Bevalac facility underwent significant upgrades to enhance its particle acceleration capabilities.
- Previous limitations restricted the range of elements and energies that could be achieved.
Purpose of the Study:
- To verify the extended mass range and energy capabilities of the upgraded Bevalac.
- To demonstrate the acceleration of heavy elements to relativistic energies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the upgraded Bevalac particle accelerator.
- Focused on accelerating elements across the periodic table.
- Verified energy levels using established measurement techniques.
Main Results:
- Successfully extended the particle acceleration mass range to include all elements.
- Achieved energies exceeding 1 billion electron volts per atomic mass unit for accelerated particles.
- Produced a uranium beam at 147.7 million electron volts per atomic mass unit on May 11, 1982, confirming the new capabilities.
Conclusions:
- The Bevalac's upgraded systems successfully enable the acceleration of any element to high relativistic energies.
- This advancement opens new research avenues in nuclear physics and heavy-ion science.
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