Nanotech accelerator-on-a-chip
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:39 pm
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/sept ... 92713.html
I think the applications to polywell and similar ideas are fairly obvious.
Also, I've heard a lot of moaning by a lot of particle physicists about how big accelerators were going to have to be in the future; I suspect this might have some pretty strong effects on that, too. If you could make one of these things to accelerate protons at a GeV/m we might be looking at an unexpected extra generation or two of solid-state accelerators. I suspect this might be possible using much finer grooves and an X-ray free electron laser. The questions of whether it works will be answered by the ability of the material to withstand the X-rays and the accelerating particles, and the ability to localize the accelerating particles within the grooves without them quantum jumping around and introducing too many complications for good coherence.
The operating principle is that as electrons pass through the rainbow-looking part in the middle of the image, tiny grooves catch the laser photons and cause them to interact as a field with the charged electrons, accelerating them. In most existing accelerators microwaves are used, which are more diffuse than laser photons by orders of magnitude and therefore require beam paths miles long instead of feet like these new accelerators take up.
The rainbow is of course the expected effect of a very fine diffraction grating of parallel lines, which is precisely what this device uses for its active principle.
Also note the lack of supercooled magnets.
I think the applications to polywell and similar ideas are fairly obvious.
Also, I've heard a lot of moaning by a lot of particle physicists about how big accelerators were going to have to be in the future; I suspect this might have some pretty strong effects on that, too. If you could make one of these things to accelerate protons at a GeV/m we might be looking at an unexpected extra generation or two of solid-state accelerators. I suspect this might be possible using much finer grooves and an X-ray free electron laser. The questions of whether it works will be answered by the ability of the material to withstand the X-rays and the accelerating particles, and the ability to localize the accelerating particles within the grooves without them quantum jumping around and introducing too many complications for good coherence.
The operating principle is that as electrons pass through the rainbow-looking part in the middle of the image, tiny grooves catch the laser photons and cause them to interact as a field with the charged electrons, accelerating them. In most existing accelerators microwaves are used, which are more diffuse than laser photons by orders of magnitude and therefore require beam paths miles long instead of feet like these new accelerators take up.
The rainbow is of course the expected effect of a very fine diffraction grating of parallel lines, which is precisely what this device uses for its active principle.
Also note the lack of supercooled magnets.