Accelerator physics

Accelerators – i.e. machines built to increase velocity and relativistic mass of charged particles – are sources of energetic particle beams. At present the maximum energy may reach 200 GeV for electrons and 7 TeV for protons. They may also generate secondary beams (photons, neutrons). Accelerators were developed as tools for fundamental research in nuclear physics, but their usefulness was later extended into research in high-energy physics, solid-state physics etc., as well as in chemistry, biology, ecology etc. Apart from fundamental research, accelerators find numerous applications in industry, material technology, medical therapy (oncology, neurology, cardiology), sterilization of medical utensils, isotope production, environmental protection, preservation of agricultural produce, and many others. Future nuclear power plants may possibly use next generation accelerators as sources of intense neutron beams for excitation of sub-critical reactors.

NCBJ has many-year-long tradition of developing linear and cyclic accelerators for research and applications (mainly for cancer therapy). Compact C-30 cyclotron has been built in-house and is deployed in Świerk center. Our experts participated in construction of U-200 P heavy-ion cyclotron in Warsaw. NCBJ Nuclear Equipment Division (HITEC) is among a few manufacturers in the world that offer medical linear electron accelerators and auxiliary equipment for therapeutical treatment lines.

In the field of accelerator physics our Institute cooperates (among others) with DESY, INFN, CERN.