Related: Huge 56-Mile Particle Smasher Is Possible, Says CERN Report<\/a><\/p>\n Most people imagine particle accelerators as enormous machines, very large rings of metal and magnets stretching for kilometre beneath the ground. The Large Hadron Collider<\/a> at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, for example, is 17 miles (27 km) long.<\/p>\n The new research shows that it may soon be possible to build ultra-compact accelerators only a few micrometre wide \u2013 smaller than the width of a human hair. These could generate coherent, high-energy X-rays similar to those produced by billion-pound synchrotron facilities, but using devices that fit on a microchip.<\/p>\n Twisted light<\/p>\n The principle relies on a particular property of light known as surface plasmon polaritons. These are waves that form when laser light clings to the surface of a material. In the simulations, a circularly polarised laser pulse was sent through a tiny hollow tube. This polarised laser pulse is light that twists as it moves, very much like a corkscrew.<\/p>\n The swirling field traps and accelerates electron particles inside the tube, forcing them into a spiral motion. As they move in sync, the electrons emit radiation coherently, amplifying the light’s intensity by up to two orders of magnitude.<\/p>\n My team and I<\/a> have created a microscopic synchrotron, where the same physical principles that drive mile-scale facilities play out \u2013 but on a nanoscopic stage.<\/p>\n To make this concept work, carbon nanotubes<\/a> were used. These are cylindrical structures made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal patterns. These nanotubes can withstand very high electric fields, hundreds of times stronger than those in conventional accelerators. They can also be “grown” vertically into what we call a “forest” of closely aligned hollow tubes.<\/p>\n This unique architecture provides an ideal environment for the corkscrewing laser light to couple with the electrons. The circularly polarised laser fits the nanotube<\/a>‘s internal structure \u2013 much like a key in a lock, which is why we refer to a quantum lock-and-key mechanism.<\/p>\n The research team that I’m a part of was led by Bifeng Lei, a research associate in the school of physical sciences. 3D simulations showed that this interaction can produce electric fields of several teravolts (one trillion volts) per metre. This is far beyond what current accelerator technologies can achieve.<\/p>\n That kind of performance could change who gets access to cutting-edge X-ray sources. At present, scientists must apply for limited time slots at large, national synchrotron facilities, or free-electron lasers, often waiting months for a few hours of beam time.<\/p>\n Opening up access<\/p>\n The tabletop accelerator approach could make this capability available in hospitals, universities, and industrial labs. In fact, wherever it is needed.<\/p>\n In medicine, this could mean clearer mammograms and new imaging techniques that reveal soft tissues in unprecedented detail, without contrast agents.<\/p>\n In drug development, researchers could analyse protein structures in-house, dramatically speeding up the design of new therapies. And in materials science and semiconductor engineering, it could enable non-destructive, high-speed testing of delicate components.<\/p>\n The study was presented at the 2025 NanoAc workshop<\/a> on the topic of nanotechnology in accelerator physics, which was held in Liverpool earlier this month. The research currently remains at the simulation stage. But the necessary components already exist: powerful circularly polarised lasers and precisely fabricated nanotube structures are standard tools in advanced research labs.<\/p>\n The next step is experimental verification. If successful, this would mark the beginning of a new generation of ultra-compact radiation sources. What excites me most about this technology is not just the physics, but what it represents.<\/p>\n Large-scale accelerators have driven enormous scientific progress, but they remain out of reach for most institutions. A miniaturised accelerator that delivers comparable performance could democratise access to world-class research tools, bringing frontier science into the hands of many more researchers.<\/p>\n The future of particle acceleration might include very large machines to further push the energy, intensity, and discovery boundaries, as well as smaller, smarter, and more accessible accelerators. Carsten P Welsch<\/a>, Professor of Physics, University of Liverpool<\/a><\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A particle accelerator that produces intense X-rays could be squeezed into a device that fits on a table,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[49,48,314,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-285891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-physics","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"cern](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cern_particle_accelerator_642-1.jpg\")
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is a massive 27 kilometres long. (Maximilien Brice\/CERN<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"Desktop](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/desktop_particle_accelerator_header-642x361.jpg\")
Diagram of a desktop particle accelerator. (B. Lei, University of Liverpool\/Carsten Welsch)<\/p>\n![\"carbon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/carbon_nanotubes_particle_accelerator_642.jpg\")
Carbon nanotubes grown in close alignment can be used to ‘corkscrew’ laser light. (Science Photo Library\/Canva<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"Win](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mid-Article-Promo-Astro-642x272.jpg\")
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