PHYSICS

I INVESTIGATORY

CYCLOTRON
DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL
XII SCIENCE
ROLL NO.-

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 INDEX
* Certificate
*Acknowledgement
*Aim of Project
*Introduction
*Principles and Construction
*Theory
*Working
*Limitations
*Uses
*Bibliography

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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that ARITRA GHOSH,
a student of class XII, DAV Public
School has successfully completed the
project titled Cyclotron during -the
academic year 2023-2024 towards
partial fulfillment of physics practical
examination conducted by CBSE.

Teacher Signature Principal Signature

External Examiner Signature

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my physics teachers MRS
Priyanka Banerjee, whose valuable guidance has
been the ones that helped me patch this project
and make if full proof success their suggestions
and their instructions had served as the major
contributor towards the completion of the
project.
Then I would like to thank my parents and
friends
who have helped me with their valuable
suggestions and guidance has been helpful in
various phases of the completion of the project.
Last but not the least I would like to thank my
classmates who have helped me a lot.

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 AIM OF
PROJECT
To give a brief description
about CYCLOTRON

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 INTRODUCTION
A Cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by
Ernest O. Lawrence in 1934 in which charged particles
accelerate outwards from the center along a spiral
path. The particles are held to a spiral trajectory by a
static magnetic field and accelerated by a rapidly
varying electric field.

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 Principles and Construction
Principle:
Cyclotron works on the principle that a charged
particle moving normal to a magnetic field
experiences magnetic Lorentz force due to which
the particle moves in a circular path.
Construction:
As shown in Fig, a cyclotron consists of the
following main parts:
1. It consists of two small, hollow, metallic
halfcylinders D1 and D2, called Dees as they are in
the shape of D.
2. They are mounted inside a vacuum chamber
between the poles of a powerful electromagnet.
3. The Dees are connected to the source of high
frequency alternating voltage of few hundred
kilovolts.

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4. The beam of charged particles to be accelerated
is injected into the Dees near their center, in a
plane perpendicular to the magnetic field.
5. The charged particles are pulled out of the Dees
by a deflecting plate (which is negatively charged)
through a window W.
6. The whole device is in high vacuum (pressure
~10-6 mm of Hg) so that the air molecules may not
collide with the charged particles.

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 THEORY
The positive ion P to be accelerated is placed in between
the two dees. If at any instant, D1 is at negative potential
and D2 is at positive potential, then the ion gets
accelerated towards D1 but since its perpendicular to B, it
describes a circular path of radius r and Lorentz force
provides the centripetal force.

Time taken to describe a semicircle is

If this time is equal to the time during which D1 and D2

change their polarity, the ion gets accelerated when it
arrives in between the gaps. The electric field accelerates
the ion further. Once the ion is inside the dee D2, it now
describes a greater semicircle due to the magnetic field.
This process repels and the ion goes on describing a circular
path of greater radius and finally acquires a high energy. The ion
is further removed from a window W. The maximum energy
acquired by the ion source is

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This process repels and the ion goes on describing a
circular path of greater radius and finally acquires a high
energy. The ion is further removed from a window W.
The maximum energy acquired by the ion source is

The frequency of cyclotron is

given

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 WORKING
When a positive ion of charge q and mass m is emitted
from the source, it is accelerated towards the Dee having
a negative potential at that instant of time. Due to the
normal magnetic field, the ion experiences magnetic
Lorentz force and moves in a circular path. By the time
the ion arrives at the gap between the Dees, the polarity
of the Dees gets reversed. Hence the particle is once
again accelerated and moves into the other Dee with a
greater velocity along a circle of greater radius. Thus the
particle moves in a spiral path of increasing radius and
when it comes near the edge, it is taken out with the
help of a deflector plate (D.P). The particle with high
energy is now allowed to hit the target T.

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 LIMITATIONS
 Cyclotron cannot accelerate uncharged
particles like neutrons.
 Cyclotron cannot accelerate electrons because
of its small mass.
 It cannot accelerate positively charged particles
with large mass due to relativistic effect.
 Only when the speed of the circulating ion is
less than 'c' the speed of light, we find the
frequency of revolution to be independent of
its speed.
 At higher speeds, the mass of the ion will
increase and this changes the time period of
the ion revolution. This results in the ion lagging
behind the electric field and it eventually loses
by collisions against the walls of the dees.
 The cyclotron is suitable for accelerating heavy
charged particles.
 It is not suited for very high kinetic energy.

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 USES
 The high energy particles produced in
a cyclotron are used to bombard nuclei and
study the resulting nuclear reactions and
hence investigate nuclear structure.
 The high energy particles are used to
produce other high energy particles, such
as neutrons, by collisions. These fast
neutrons are used in atomic reactors.
 It is used to implant ions into solids and
modify their properties or even synthesis
new materials

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 Bibliography
@Google
@Wikipedia
@Science for all
@Brainkart.com

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