An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An → accelerator in which charged subatomic particles generated at a central source are accelerated to acquire energies up to several tens of millions of → electron-volts. The cyclotron consists of two flat, semicircular metal boxes or electrodes, called dees or D’s because of their shape. An alternating electric field between the dees continuously accelerates the particles from one dee to the other, while the magnetic field bends their direction guiding them in a circular path. As the speed of the particles increases, so does the radius of their path, and the particles spiral outward. See also → cyclotron frequency, → synchrotron.

See also: From cyclo- a combining form meaning → cycle

• → -tron.