synchrocyclotron

[ sing-kroh-sahy-kluh-tron, -sik-luh- ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a type of cyclotron that synchronizes its accelerating voltage with particle velocity in order to compensate for the relativistic mass increase of the particle as it approaches the speed of light.

synchrocyclotron

/ ˌsɪŋkrəʊˈsaɪkləˌtrɒn /

noun

1. a type of cyclotron in which the frequency of the electric field is modulated to allow for relativistic effects at high velocities and thus produce higher energies

synchrocyclotron

/ sĭng′krō-sī′klə-trŏn′ /

1. A type of cyclotron that modulates the frequency of the electric fields that accelerate the particles, thereby keeping the accelerating forces synchronized with the particle as its mass increases with velocity due to the effects of relativity, and providing greater energies for the accelerated particles than an unsynchronized cyclotron.
2. Also called frequency modulated cyclotron
3. See also synchrotronSee Note at particle accelerator

Word History and Origins

Origin of synchrocyclotron¹

First recorded in 1945–50; synchro- + cyclotron

Example Sentences

Enrico Fermi at the controls of the synchrocyclotron particle accelerator at the University of Chicago, Illinois, in the 1950s.

From Nature

Using a machine known as a superconducting synchrocyclotron, doctors are able to speed up protons to more than 402 million miles per hour.

From US News

The 184-inch synchrocyclotron was one of the few machines that could accelerate alpha particles to the energies required to produce them.

From Literature

Because it utilizes this principle, this machine has usually been referred to as a "synchrocyclotron" or "frequency-modulated cyclotron."

From Project Gutenberg