Diamond Home Page
  • Diamond Home Page
  • About Us
  • For Users
  • Industry
  • Public
  • Science
  • Instruments
  • Careers
  • More
Search

On this website

About Diamond

  • About Diamond
  • About Synchrotron
  • News and Features
  • Events
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ

For Users

  • Apply for beamtime
  • User guide
  • Diamond Users Commitee
  • FAQ

Industry

  • Techniques Available
  • Industry Research
  • Industry Case Studies
  • News
  • Meet the Industry Team

Science

  • Research
  • Computing
  • The Machine
  • Publications
  • Research Expertise
  • Membrane Protein Laboratory
  • Additional Facilities

Instruments

  • Biological Cryo-Imaging
  • Crystallography
  • Imaging and Microscopy
  • Macromolecular Crystallography
  • Magnetic Materials
  • Soft Condensed Matter
  • Spectroscopy
  • Structures and Surfaces

Careers

  • Vacancies
  • Info for applicants
  • Company Benefits
  • Apprenticeships
  • PhD Studentships
  • Work Placement

Public

  • News
  • How Diamond Works
  • Multimedia
  • Features
  • Visits Us
  • For School

Procurement

  • Non-OJEU Tender Notices
  • OJEU PINs
  • OJEU Tender Notices
  • Registration Form

Software & Tools

  • Publications Database
  • iSpyB
  • User Administration System

Main Content

For the Public
Sub-navigation
  • Public
  • How We Work
  • Our Learning Resources
  • Visit Us
  • For Education
  • Partnering with Diamond

In This Section

Sub Navigation
  • Open days and other events
  • Simulations and Resources
    • Simulations, Animations and Worksheets
    • Diamond: The Game
    • The Power of Light Zine Project
  • Schools/College Work Experience
  • University Visits

Contact Information

Public Engagement Team
Telephone:
+44 (0) 1235 778998
E-mail: 
publicengagement@diamond.ac.uk

Subscribe to our Teacher's Mailing List

Stay in touch with educational events, schools open days, and news from Diamond. Sign up to our teachers newsletter today and keep up to date with all the latest from us.

Subscribe here

 

Social Diamond

Follow us on Twitter Watch us on Vimeo Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn

Tweets by @DiamondLightSou

Social Diamond

Image of the Week Follow us on Twitter Watch us on Vimeo Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn

  1. Public
  2. For Education
  3. Simulations and Resources
  4. Simulations, Animations and Worksheets
  5. The Linac

The Linac

Navigate between the simulations

0. Synchrotron > 1. Electron Gun > 2. The Linac > 3. Dipole Magnets > 4. Vacuum > 5. Undulator > 6. Beamlines

Instructions

The simulation can be operated either manually or automatically.
  1. Click on AUTO FLIP to see how the linac should work.
  2. Select FLIP to try this for yourself
  3. When the electron is inside the first tube quickly press FLIP to invert the voltage on all the tubes
  4. When the electron leaves the first tube, it will be attracted to the next positive tube.
  5. Press FLIP again as soon as the electron is inside the second tube. Continue this until the electron reaches the end of the linac and see if you have reached a high enough energy!
  6. In real life, the polarity of the tubes changes millions of times per second!
     

In more depth

After electrons leave the electron gun they enter the linear accelerator, or linac. Here the electrons are accelerated to close to the speed of light before they enter the booster synchrotron.
 
In theory this could be achieved be passing the electrons through a very strong magnetic field. However in practice it is not possible to generate high enough voltages so a linac achieves the same goal by acclerating electrons through a series of smaller fields.
 
The electrons pass through a series of chambers with electric fields which alternate as the electrons pass through. This way the electrons always see a positive field ahead of them, which they accelerate towards. You can use AUTO FLIP to alternate the electric fields automatically, or use the FLIP button to try this for yourself!
 
You will notice that the tubes get longer as they go along: this is so that all the tubes can be powered by a single oscillator. When the electrons are travelling slowly they only travel a short distance before the polarity changes. The faster they go the further they travel before the polarity changes again.
 
At very high energies the electrons approach the speed of light, and increasing their energy no longer increases their speed. Instead, relativity means that their mass increases instead.
 
  • Contact Us
  • About Diamond Light Source
  • Careers
  • Procurement
  • Legal notices & Cookie policy
  • Supply Chain Transparency

Diamond Light Source

Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.

Copyright © 2022 Diamond Light Source

 

Diamond Light Source Ltd
Diamond House
Harwell Science & Innovation Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0DE

See on Google Maps

Diamond Light Source® and the Diamond logo are registered trademarks of Diamond Light Source Ltd

Registered in England and Wales at Diamond House, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom. Company number: 4375679. VAT number: 287 461 957. Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number: GB287461957003.

feedback