An electron, a proton, or a heavy-ion accelerator in which the paths of the particles accelerated are essentially straight lines rather than circles or spirals. Also called linac. or linac Type of particle accelerator that imparts a series of relatively small increases in energy to subatomic particles as they pass through a sequence of alternating electric fields set up in a linear structure. The small accelerations add together to give the particles a greater energy than could be achieved by the voltage used in one section alone. One of the world's longest linacs is the 2-mi (3.2-km) machine at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, which can accelerate electrons to energies of 50 billion electron volts. Much smaller linacs, both proton and electron types, have important practical applications in medicine and industry
A type of particle accelerator in which charged particles are accelerated in a straight line, either by a steady electrical field or by means of radiofrequency electric fields In the latter variety, the passage of the particle is synchronized with the phase of the accelerating field The SLAC Linear Accelerator (linac) is a two-mile long accelerator, consisting of a cylindrical, disc-loaded, copper waveguide placed on concrete girders in a tunnel about 25 feet underground More Information: Accelerator Form and Function, SLAC Linear Collider, Next Linear Collider
a treatment machine that delivers x-rays or electrons The machine gets its energy from an electrical source It does not contain radioactive elements When the electrical power on this machine is turned off, there is no remaining radiation in the room
A machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers, using electricity to form a stream of fast-moving subatomic particles Also called a megavoltage (MeV) linear accelerator or "linac" (pronounced LYNN-ack)