I was wondering if it was possible to make a homemade particle accelerator and if so, how would I?
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4Once upon a time most houses had an electron accelerator in them, otherwise known as a TV tube. – Jon Custer Nov 02 '23 at 16:06
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Does this answer your question? Homemade particle accelerator – John Rennie Nov 02 '23 at 16:11
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1Here's an old one... Stong, C. L. “THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST.” Scientific American, vol. 200, no. 1, 1959, pp. 138–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24944895 – PM 2Ring Nov 02 '23 at 17:37
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Its better not to try to build up a homemade particle accelerator.The voltages and teslas which would develop would probably fry all of the electronics in your house(including your computer).There is a reason why particle accelerators are build up deep in the ground.
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2A small one wouldn't "fry all of the electronics in your house". By it would be hazardous to its operator through high voltage and radiation generation (especially x-rays). Search for "amateur particle accelerator", have fun reading, but stick to safer electrical experiments unless you have the resources of a professional facility to keep you safe. – John Doty Nov 02 '23 at 15:44
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@JohnDoty - keeping it to perhaps 10kV pretty well gets rid of the radiation concerns. The voltage for the accelerator column and rf for a simple ion source remain challenging. – Jon Custer Nov 02 '23 at 15:52
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3As someone who has run and operated facilities with ion accelerators for close to 40 years (none of which were deep in the ground) I can say there are some interesting machines one could build at home. A small electron machine, like Thompson used, would be pretty easy these days. Electrical safety does need to be thought through. – Jon Custer Nov 02 '23 at 16:03