Conventional accelerators require multiple football fields in length to reach very high particle energies (multi-billion eV). Laser-powered, plasma-based accelerators, where electrons surf on waves, can do this in just a few 10’s of cm. This plasma technology is at the brink of offering a profoundly different way in which we may build particle accelerators, paving the way for applications such as generation of intense radiation, injection into storage rings, future colliders or medical therapy.

Tags: Engineering, Foresight, Med-Tech, Mobile Health, Trust in science, Physical sciences knowledge & technology

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