pence: cyclotron

The

CyclotronBy: Andrea Pence

Research Question:

How did the development of the cyclotron influence and develop the scientific environment in which we live today?

What is a Cyclotron?

Cyclotron Diagram

Cyclo:Circular

Tron:Across

A cyclotron is…

• A particle accelerator – Sends charged particles, which constantly accelerate through a ‘Dee’, through a circular path until they are (most likely) directed towards a designated target for a specific

purpose

How it works…

• Electrons enter a vacuum in the device– Vacuum is suspended between two magnetic poles

• High frequency, alternating voltage is then applied to the ‘Dee’ electrodes

• The particles increase speed and energy as they travel along a spiral path

• With each turn on the spiral path they gain more speed, frequency, and energy

• Particles will continue on this path until they reach their target– This creates secondary particles

• These can be measured by instruments

Accelerated Particles

Uses of the Cyclotron

• For decades best source of high energy beams for physics experiments

• Treatment for Cancer – Proton Therapy

• PET imaging

Cyclotron Experiments

• Element 113 (Uut) recently discovered• Element 115 (Uup) also recently discovered• Dr. James Meadows used cyclotrons in an experiment on radionuclide production

• Resonance in silicon and germanium

Advantages

• Utilizes a single, electrical driver– This saves energy and $

• High power due to continuous stream of particles

• Compact design

Limitations

• Spiral beam of a cyclotron means it will only be efficient and work with Klystron type voltage

Problems Solved

• Until the cyclotron, the linear accelerator was the only way to produce high-frequency radio waves– Pretty crappy

• The cyclotron has better waves than the linear accelerator

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Related Technology

• A magnetron is a accelerator based off of the cyclotron– You all know what a magnetron is, you have one in your kitchen•Magnetron = microwave

More Related Technology: Cyclotron Radiation

What is it:

Electromagnetic radiation emitted by charged particles

• Cyclotron radiation, found around black holes, is an excellent source of information about distant magnetic fields

…

• Cyclotron radiation would likely be produced in a high-altitude nuclear explosion

• Gamma rays produced by this explosion would ionize atoms in the upper atmosphere

• These free electrons would interact with Earth’s magnetic feild

• Produceing cyclotron radiation in the form of a electromagnetic pulse

• EMP is a current concern of the military because it could damage solid, state equipment

The History of the Cyclotron is not some easily untangled web…

Leo Lzilard

• Invented the Cyclotron• Other inventions

– Nuclear Chain reaction– Electron microscope– Linear accelerator

Leo’s History• Cyclotron: Szilard conceived this idea somewhere in the 1900-1930

• Nuclear Chain Reaction:– 1933 Ernest Rutherford gives a speech proclaiming that atomic energy will never be useful

– Shocked, Szilard comes up with N.C.R. that very day

– Helped achieve atomic bomb with collaboration from Einstein and various other scientists

– Later in life he reported regretting having created the atomic bomb and hoped it wouldn’t be used on the public :/

Continued

• 1960, Szilard is diagnosed with bladder cancer

• He is treated using his own treatment regime (radiation therapy (this therapy involves the use of cyclotrons))

• Put into remission

Going On…

• 1960, after being ‘cured’, he helped found Council for a Livable World

• C.L.W.- organization dedicated to protecting society from everything radioactive and atomic

Council for a Livable World

• Helps elect congressional candidates who support them– 120 U.S arms control advocates– 203 House of Representatives

•Raised 1.3 million in 2010

Who Else did They Endorse???

October 3, 2007 C.L.W. praised senator Obama for his pledge to improve Russian relations

C.L.W. backed B. Obama in his presidential election

What Specifically has C.L.W. Done?

• Ratified Chemical Weapons Convention– Outlaws production/ stockpiling of chemical weapons

• Ratified Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty– Eliminated nuclear and conventional ground launched ballistic and cruise missiles between the USA and Soviet Union

Continuing On

• Ratified Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty– Barred the USA and Soviet Union from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads• Treaty expired 12-5-09, the New START was signed by President Obama and went into effect 1-26-11

• Banned biological weapons, and eliminated chemical weapons programs

…

• Ensured limited deployment of MX missile and B2 bomber

• Blocking deployment of National Missile Defense

• Stopped funding for Bunker Buster and Reliable Replacement Warhead

It’s slightly ironic that C.L.W. stands to ban basically everything the cyclotron stands for + without the cyclotron C.L.W wouldn’t really exist

=ing It All Up

Leo Szilard created the cyclotron

He also invented N.C.R. Helped create the atomic bomb Remorseful

Bladder Cancer Cured using invented treatment C.L.W

Greatly influences the world we live in today

*His remorsefulness of N.C.R., and his

invention of the cyclotron all helped fuel the C.L.W insanity!!!

Ernest Lawrence

• August 8, 1901- August 27, 1958• He built, utilized, and improved the cyclotron

• 1939 Won Nobel Peace Prize in physics, for the cyclotron

• Helped with Nuclear Fission• Found a way to smash atoms and paved the way for nuclear weapons

Going On…

• Lawrence Liberty Conventional Library

• Founded Lawrence Berkley Lab

Continued :)

• 1958, the last year of his life, Eisenhower sent Lawrence to Geneva Switzerland

• Propose treaty• Ban nuclear war testing with the Soviet Union

• Chronic Colitis

Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

• Contributions:– Manhattan Project: Develop first atomic bomb in WW2

– Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins: Proximity Fuse

– MIT Radiation Laboratory: Radar

• 3 most useful war technologies

Princeton and the Cyclotron

• 2-23-1950• Oil fire destroyed Princeton’s $400,000 cyclotron– Cause of blaze unknown– Smoldered for 11 hours – Only magnets were salvageable– Approx. 6 months to rebuild

• Built in 1936• One of America’s first ‘atom smashers’

…

• Device had been shipped to Los Almos, New Mexico in WW2

• Had large role in creating the atomic bomb

• Was currently being used for research in Office of Naval research

The Science of the Cyclotron

Radionuclide

• What is a radionuclide:– Atom w/ unstable nucleus– Also known as radioisotopes– Undergo radio active decay– Occur naturally or artificially– Emit gamma rays

Radionuclide's and Cyclotrons

• Cyclotrons accelerate atomic particles to hit a target which produce radionuclide's

• Cyclotrons accelerate protons at a target to make positron emitting radioisotopes – Ex Fluorine 18

Nuclear Medicine

• Used for diagnoses, research, and treatment

• Also used in single-proton emission computed tomography and PET imaging

• In genetics, radioisotopes attach themselves to molecules and allow tracing. They can show DNA replication and amino acid transport

…

• Can be used in food preservation

• Industry and mining• Geology, archaeology, and paleontology

Why do I care about radioisotopes???

• Because:– Americium 241 is a radioisotope found in smoke detectors

– Gadolinium 153 is a a radioisotope used in X-ray fluorescence and osteoporosis screening

Fluorine 18

• Radioisotope• Important source of positrons (+)• Generally they’re produced by cyclotrons

• Used in the radiopharmaceutical industry

• Synthesized into fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for use in PET scans

PET imaging

• Positron Emission Tomography– Nuclear Medicine

• Use trace amount of radioactive material (radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers) to diagnose and depict a disease– Cancer– Heart Disease– Gastrointestinal diseases

• Nuclear medicine accurately pinpoints molecular activity within the body

How it Works

• Radiotracers are injected, swallowed, or inhaled as a gas

• Accumulate in the organ/area being examined

• Radiotracers give off energy called a gamma ray

• Then a gamma camera, PET scanner, or probe detects this energy and converts it into a picture with the assistance of a computer

Cyclotrons and PET Imaging

• Cyclotrons are needed to generate the radiotracers needed for PET

• Cyclotrons produce many different kinds of radioactive isotopes– These must emit positrons when decaying

…

• Most PET installations have cyclotrons by the PET machine– Radiotracers can be synthesized quickly •Radioisotopes decay very quickly and need to be administered to the patient as quickly as possible

The Cyclotron in Astrophysics:

More Specifically MSU• Leading isotope research facility• Built 1963• Biggest nuclear science facility on a university campus

• Operates 2 superconducting cyclotrons• Currently investigating properties of rare isotopes and nuclear reactions– Reactions that take place in stars

• Novae + supernovae

…

• K1200 is the biggest accelerator in the world

• Primary goal is currently to understand atomic nuclei

• Isotope research taking place at MSU is key to understanding how elements, and the universe were formed

Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

Remnants of a star that exploded in a supernova about 1000 years ago

The Cyclotron in Particle Physics

• The cyclotron smashes particles together

• Snap shots are taken of these particles when they collide

• Shots capture ‘fundamental particles’

• Piece together what happened when the universe was created

• Opened up new avenues to particle physics and astrophysics– Allowed physicists to accelerate particles they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise

• Allows medical physicists and radiochemists better access to positron emitting radionuclide's

• Radiation therapy

Conventional Radiation therapy

• Uses linear accelerator• Accelerates electrons and smashes them into a target, producing gamma rays

• Gamma rays are then collimated into a beam and used to irritate a patients tumor

Cons:• G-rays also irritate the tissue surrounding the tumor – Radiation oncologists can use different ‘angles’ of r-therapy to seemingly ‘spare’ tissue

Radiation Therapy Involving Cyclotrons

• Accelerates [cyclotron] protons to high energies• Proton beam is then sent down a beam line and into

a gantry • Then directed to eradicate a portion of the

patientPros:

• Targets specific areas of the bodyCons:

• Range of protons of dependent on depth of body– If body moves beams will miss targeted portion

• Can only be used on brain tumors

• Cost is 150 million

• PET imaging • Sends radioisotopes into the body attached to a molecule, and then looks for decay

• Build ‘maps’ of where isotopes accumulate

• Helps physicians gain information about a patients disease

Answering the Research Question

• How did the development of the cyclotron influence and develop the scientific environment in which we live today?

◙ Indirectly linked to CLW◙ Improved Radiation Therapy◙ Indirectly linked to many household items

◙ Smoke Detector◙ Microwave

◙ PET imaging◙ Radiopharmaceuticals◙ Benefits and brings together many types of sciences

THE END