A medical research team is developing a compact cyclotron to produce a radioactive isotope of fluorine ($^{18}F$) for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. The cyclotron accelerates doubly ionized helium-4 nuclei ($^{4}He^{2+}$) to bombard a target, ultimately producing the desired fluorine isotope. The cyclotron utilizes a combination of electric fields to accelerate the helium nuclei and magnetic fields to maintain their circular path.
b. The cyclotron uses a uniform magnetic field to maintain the helium nuclei in a circular path. Explain how the magnetic field achieves this, and why it is essential for the continuous acceleration of the nuclei within the cyclotron.
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Create Free Account Log inThis is a free VCE Units 3 & 4 Physics practice question worth 4 marks, testing your understanding of Particle accelerators. It falls under How do things move without contact? in Unit 3: How do fields explain motion and electricity?. Submit your answer above to receive instant AI-powered marking and personalised feedback.
In this unit students use Newton’s laws to investigate motion in one and two dimensions. They explore the concept of the field as a model used by physicists to explain observations of motion of objects not in apparent contact. Students compare and contrast three fundamental fields – gravitational, magnetic and electric – and how they relate to one another. They consider the importance of the field to the motion of particles within the field. Students examine the production of electricity and its delivery to homes. They explore fields in relation to the transmission of electricity over large distances and in the design and operation of particle accelerators. A student-designed practical investigation involving the generation of primary data and including one continuous, independent variable related to fields, motion or light is undertaken either in Unit 3 or Unit 4, or across both Units 3 and 4, and is assessed in Unit 4, Outcome 2. The design, analysis and findings of the investigation are presented in a scientific poster format.
In this area of study, students examine the similarities and differences between three fields: gravitational, electric and magnetic. Students explore how positions in fields determine the potential energy of, and the force on, an object. They investigate how concepts related to field models can be applied to construct motors, maintain satellite orbits and to accelerate particles including in a synchrotron.
Model the acceleration of particles in a particle accelerator (including synchrotrons) as uniform circular motion (limited to linear acceleration by a uniform electric field and direction change by a uniform magnetic field).
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