Inquiring Minds

Questions About Physics

Bringing particles to almost the speed of light

  1. Peeling off atoms?
    "Hi, I am 11...When I grow up I want to work at Fermilab. I was wondering if you could explain to me about how you let only one atom in the accelerator, if everything is made out of atoms?"

  2. The Power of the Tevatron
    " How powerful is Fermilab's accelerator in volts, amperes and watts? "

  3. The Impact of the Accelerator on the Environment
    " How many studies have been done to figure out what escapes from the accelerators into the environment and how much of it escapes? Have you done research on things like insect life, water life and plant growth in the areas near the accelerator? Why is there the water ring over the accelerator in the first place? "

  4. Using an accelerator to create a new element
    "I am 11. I am thinking of creating a new element and I need a particle accelerator to do it, so I was wondering if I could use yours. "

  5. Testing theories
    "I want to prove the existence of something. To fulfill this dream of mine I want to create a singularity."

  6. Magnets
    "I was wondering exactly how magnets are used at Fermilab? I understand that they are used in "detectors" and "particle accelerators", but I would like more specific information."

  7. High Frequency Beams
    "My question is about high frequency beams. I'd like to know what are the highest frequencies (in Hz) you have been using at Fermilab and in what kind of research. What is the theoretical limit for frequencies and how far are we from it?"

  8. X-rays from Particle Accelerators
    "I was told that in ring-shaped particle accelerators, not linear accelerators, particles release energy at distinct points along the circumference of the accelerated particle's path, where magnets are placed. I was also told this energy was in the form of x-rays. Where do the high-energy photons come from?"

  9. Homemade Particle Accelerator
    "Can a simple particle accelerator be built at home?"

  10. Creating electrons, protons and antiprotons
    "How do you make protons and antiprotons that contain the quarks? How do you make an electron scanning microscope?"

  11. Speed limit for massive objects
    "Particles with mass such as protons and electrons can never truly travel at the speed of light in vacuum but they can get very close. Why not?"

  12. Accelerating massive objects
    "How much do you have to accelerate a particle to increase its "mass" by one percent?"

  13. Accumulating antiprotons
    "What is the best way to make lots of antiprotons?"

  14. Lightning as a power source for accelerators (update)

  15. Lightning as a power source for accelerators
    "I was just wondering, have you ever used lightning as the source of energy to power a particle accelerator?"

  16. A New Accelerator Concept

  17. Producing anti-neutron beams
    "How do you create more or less pure anti-neutron beams in your accelerator?"

  18. Splitting Molecules
    "Can you use particle accelerators to break up molecules into their elements?"

  19. Accelerating a Gram of Matter
    "I think the reason why you need to build such large accelerators is because your accelerating individual subatomic particles. Wouldn't it be better to accelerate larger masses like one or two grams?"

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last modified 12/16/2003