Synchrotron: Structure, Working Principle, & Applications

A Synchrotron is a type of cyclic particle accelerator that descends from the cyclotron, and in which the particle beam is accelerated around a fixed closed loop.

• Synchrotron is a modified version of a cyclotron, that was designed to cover the limitation of the cyclotron.
• Cyclotron does not operate when charged particles reach relativistic speed and are unable to accelerate those particles any further.
• Therefore, the synchrotron can accelerate the charged particles beyond the relativistic speed. 
• The basic principles of a synchrotron design were proposed independently by Vladimir Veksler in 1944.
• The first electron synchrotron was constructed by Edwin McMillan in 1945.
• Sir Marcus Oliphant designed the first proton synchrotron and it was built in 1952.
• And now this machine, which is a size of a football field is used to conduct various research.

Key Terms: Synchrotron, Cyclotron, Charged Particles, Magnetic Field, Accelerator, Synchrotron radiation, electrons, protons, electric field, Ion, Speed

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What is Synchrotron? 

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A synchrotron is a cyclic particle accelerator in which a charged particle such as an electron or a proton, or a heavy-ion particle is accelerated to very high energies in the presence of an alternating electric field and a constant magnetic field.

• The magnetic field bends or deflects the path of the charged particles.
• The magnetic field must gradually increase in strength as the momentum of the particle increases, to maintain a constant trajectory within the cyclic accelerator.
• The frequency of the varying electric field must be adjusted as necessary to be synchronous with the orbital frequency of the charged particles.
• The Synchrotron that accelerates electrons is called an electron synchrotron and the one that accelerated a proton is called a proton synchrotron.
• To produce synchrotron radiation, electron synchrotrons were used. In nuclear physics research, Heavy-ion synchrotrons are primarily used.
• A special type of synchrotron, known as a storage ring, in which the kinetic energy of the particles is kept constant.
• Synchrotron light sources are composed of different electron accelerators, including a storage ring where electromagnetic radiation is generated known as synchrotron radiation.
• It is a source of brilliant light that scientists can use to gather information about the structural and chemical properties of materials at the molecular level.
• The basic difference between a synchrotron and a cyclotron is that the synchrotron mode is used in most of the large-scale projects such as the large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN, but the cyclotron is used mostly in small-scale projects.

Cyclotron

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Structure of Synchrotron 

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Some of the principles structures of a synchrotron are mentioned below:

Storage Ring - It is a polygon tube made of straight sections angles together with bending magnets. It is where the circling of electrons takes place, close to the speed of light, by providing a magnetic field. The tube is maintained at a very low temperature around 10^-9 bar.

Booster Synchrotron - It is a pre-accelerator around 300 meters long. Here the acceleration of electrons takes place before their injection into the storage ring.

Electronic Gun - It is a device similar to the old television or computer screen. Here the electrons are produced for injection into the booster synchrotron.

Beamlines - The storage ring is surrounded by the beamlines, where the X-ray beams, emitted by the electrons are directed. The beamlines have been designed in a way that they can be used for specific types of research.

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Working of Synchrotron

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• Synchrotron works on the principle that, when a moving electron changes its direction, then it emits energy. If put simply, when charged particles are accelerated, they give off electromagnetic radiation. 
• So, the work of a synchrotron is simply to accelerate electrons to extremely high energy and then make them change direction periodically.
• The work starts with the generation of electron particles in an electron gun.
• Then these particles are ejected to the booster synchrotron, where they get accelerated and start to move in circles in the storage ring.
• Now the bending magnets in the storage ring are used to steer the electrons around the ring.
• As the electrons go through each magnet, it loses energy in the form of light.
• This light can be then channeled out of the storage ring wall and into the experimental stations called beamlines.

​Read More: Magnetic properties of materials

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Application of Synchrotron

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• Synchrotron radiations are electromagnetic waves that are used by scientists to study subatomic particles in high-energy particle physics research. 
• Electron synchrotrons are used to produce synchrotron radiation.
• Heavy-ion synchrotrons are used in nuclear physics research.
• Synchrotron light helps to carry out many types of measurement.
• Synchrotrons are useful in semiconductor material analysis and structural studies
• Synchrotrons are helpful in particle therapy to treat some forms of cancer
• Synchrotron has applications in many branches of science such as material engineering, pharmacology, biology, geology, chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, medicine, etc.

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Things to Remember

• A synchrotron is a particle accelerator that is used to accelerate the particles and change their direction to provide X-rays.
• The synchrotron is a modification of a cyclotron as a cyclotron cannot accelerate the particles after they reach a relative speed.
• The structure of a synchrotron includes a storage ring, booster synchrotron, electronic gun, beamlines, and bending magnets.
• The synchrotron light is used to gather information about the structural and chemical properties of materials at the molecular level and many other types of research.

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