Editing Particle beam (section)

==Applications==
===High-energy physics===
{{See also|Particle collider|Large Hadron Collider}}
High-energy particle beams are used for [[particle physics]] experiments in large facilities; the most common examples being the [[Large Hadron Collider]] and the [[Tevatron]].

===Synchrotron radiation===
{{Main|Synchrotron light source|Synchrotron radiation}}
[[Electron beam]]s are employed in [[synchrotron light source]]s to produce [[X-ray|X-ray radiation]] with a continuous [[spectrum]] over a wide [[frequency]] band which is called [[synchrotron radiation]]. This X-ray radiation is used at [[beamline]]s of the synchrotron light sources for a variety of [[spectroscopy|spectroscopies]] ([[XAS]], [[XANES]], [[EXAFS]], [[X-ray fluorescence|''μ''-XRF]], [[X-ray crystallography|''μ''-XRD]]) in order to probe and to characterize the structure and the chemical speciation of solids and biological materials.

===Particle therapy===
{{Main|Particle therapy}}
Energetic particle beams consisting of [[protons]], [[neutrons]], or positive [[ions]] (also called particle [[microbeam]]s) may also be used for cancer treatment in particle therapy.
 
Linear accelerators use electron beam at near speed of light to treat deep cancers in patients. A tungsten/molybdenum target can be moved into the beam to create x-rays to treat surface cancers.

===Astrophysics and space physics===
Many phenomena in astrophysics are attributed to particle beams of various kinds.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=[[Anthony Peratt]] |title= The role of particle beams and electrical currents in the plasma universe |journal=Laser and Particle Beams |date=1988 |volume=6 |issue= 3 |pages=471–491 |doi= 10.1017/S0263034600005401 |bibcode= 1988LPB.....6..471P |url=https://plasmacosmology.info/downloads/Peratt_RolePartBeams.pdf |access-date=26 January 2023}}</ref> Solar Type III radio bursts, the most common impulsive radio signatures from the Sun, are used by scientists as a tool to better understand solar accelerated electron beams.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reid |first1=Hamish Andrew Sinclair |last2=Ratcliffe |first2=Heather |title=A review of solar type III radio bursts |journal=Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics |date=July 2014 |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=773–804 |doi=10.1088/1674-4527/14/7/003 |arxiv=1404.6117 |bibcode=2014RAA....14..773R |s2cid=118446359 |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-4527/14/7/003 |issn=1674-4527}}</ref> Additionally, particle beams cause [[Hydrodynamic stability|instabilities]] when interacting with plasma, which may lead to conditions causing [[Electrostatic solitary wave|electrostatic solitary waves]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Omura |first=Y. |last2=Matsumoto |first2=H. |last3=Miyake |first3=T. |last4=Kojima |first4=H. |date=February 1996 |title=Electron beam instabilities as generation mechanism of electrostatic solitary waves in the magnetotail |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/95JA03145 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics |language=en |volume=101 |issue=A2 |pages=2685–2697 |doi=10.1029/95JA03145 |issn=0148-0227|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Military===
The U.S. [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] started work on [[particle beam weapon]]s in 1958.<ref name=roberds84>{{cite journal | last=Roberds | first=Richard M. | year=1984 | title=Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon | journal=Air University Review | volume=July–August | url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jul-aug/roberds.html | access-date=2005-01-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417021903/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jul-aug/roberds.html | archive-date=2012-04-17 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The general idea of such weaponry is to hit a target object with a stream of accelerated particles with high [[kinetic energy]], which is then transferred to the atoms, or molecules, of the target. The power needed to project a high-powered beam of this kind surpasses the production capabilities of any standard battlefield powerplant,<ref name=roberds84/> thus such weapons are not anticipated to be produced in the foreseeable future.