particle accelerator. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

particle accelerator


A machine (sometimes called an “atom smasher”), often very large, that brings elementary particles (usually either protons or electrons) to a very high speed and then allows them to collide with a target. From the resulting behavior of the particles and the target, scientists deduce the structure of the particles.	1
‡ Almost all of our knowledge of the nucleus and of elementary particles depends on experiments using particle accelerators.	2

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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