Editing Particle beam (section)

{{Short description|Stream of charged, or less frequently neutral particles}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2008}}

A '''particle beam''' is a stream of [[charged particle|charged]] or [[neutral particle]]s. In [[Particle accelerator|particle accelerators]], these particles can move with a velocity close to the [[speed of light]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LHC the guide FAQ {{!}} CERN |url=https://home.cern/resources/brochure/knowledge-sharing/lhc-facts-and-figures |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=home.cern}}</ref> There is a difference between the creation and control of [[charged particle beam]]s and neutral particle beams, as only the first type can be manipulated to a sufficient extent by devices based on [[electromagnetism]]. The manipulation and diagnostics of charged particle beams at high kinetic energies using [[particle accelerator]]s are main topics of [[accelerator physics]].