Editing Accelerator physics (section)

==Beam diagnostics==
A vital component of any accelerator are the diagnostic devices that allow various properties of the particle bunches to be measured.

A typical machine may use many different types of measurement device in order to measure different properties. These include (but are not limited to) Beam Position Monitors (BPMs) to measure the position of the bunch, screens (fluorescent screens, Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) devices) to image the profile of the bunch, wire-scanners to measure its cross-section, and toroids or ICTs to measure the bunch charge (i.e., the number of particles per bunch).

While many of these devices rely on well understood technology, designing a device capable of measuring a beam for a particular machine is a complex task requiring much expertise. Not only is a full understanding of the physics of the operation of the device necessary, but it is also necessary to ensure that the device is capable of measuring the expected parameters of the machine under consideration.

Success of the full range of beam diagnostics often underpins the success of the machine as a whole.