cyclotron question (1 Viewer)

[-Murfs-]

Can cyclotrons accelerate neutrons? My understanding is that cyclotrons can only accelerate charged particles and they do so using electric fields (or possibly magnetic..?). Either way, it wouldnt affect neutrons, yet in many books and answers it says "neutron are accelerated by a cyclotron". Can anybody clear this up?

 

[Xayma]

Cyclotrons use a magnetic field to accelerate charged particles, most often protons. You could produce neutrons if you smash protons into certain atoms.

Although it has a magentic moment but I dont think that allows it to be accelerated to any extent.

 

[nit]

i thought you would've needed a charge on the particle because the only way you get it onto one of the "dees" is by electrostatic attraction to one of them. Maybe its magnetic properties are useful in dealing with rotating charges, but you don't really need to accelerate neutrons into nuclei in the same way as you do for protons and other positively charged particles, so it shouldn't matter too much.

 

[Xayma]

i thought you would've needed a charge on the particle because the only way you get it onto one of the "dees" is by electrostatic attraction to one of them. Maybe its magnetic properties are useful in dealing with rotating charges, but you don't really need to accelerate neutrons into nuclei in the same way as you do for protons and other positively charged particles, so it shouldn't matter too much.

Yeah I know that, the only way you could get it in was if you had one launched in there which requires a neutron in the first place. Its magnetic moment is really only useful in investigating magnetic materials such as Cobolt.

Particle Accelerators: Charged particles acclerated
Nuclear Reactors: Large amounts of neutrons released, high neutron flux.

 

[nit]

particle accelerators...meh, it's all phys