linear accelerator

After some initial acceleration to get the ions moving, the beam enters the linear accelerator, which is what sets the particles really cruising.

An early model of the linear accelerator also gave a beam of heavy positive ions at high energies.

It is called a linear accelerator because it accelerates particles in a straight line.

Another instrument, the heavy-ion linear accelerator (Hilac), accelerates ions as heavy as neon to about 15% the speed of light.