Category

PH

P26

A Magnetic Linear Accelerator Made from Magnets and Steel Balls

Abstract

Linear particle accelerators are used in medicine for various purposes.

In cancer treatment, they are used for targeting x-rays at a tumor without

damaging surrounding healthy cells. For these reasons, I was interested

in learning about the physics behind this device. Using a ruler, strong

magnets and steel balls, I assembled a magnetic linear accelerator (MLR) –

otherwise known as a gauss rifle. My report describes the experimental

procedures I created to determine the most optimal design that maximizes

the traveled distance and velocity of the final ball. I conducted

experiments both with 1) a predictive mathematical tool I created based on

the physics of the MLR, and 2) the actual MLR.

To create such a design, I wanted to know which of the following design

variables would have the most influence on the fired ball's velocity: ball

mass, ball size, spacer size, friction, spacing between magnets and

strength of the magnets. I hypothesized that to increase the velocity, the

ball mass, ball size and friction should be decreased, and the strength of

the magnets increased. I also hypothesized that the spacer size and the

spacing between magnets will have minimal influence.

In addition to comparing the traveled distances and velocities of the fired

ball, I calculated the predicted kinetic energy and compared it to the

measured kinetic energy. I discovered that the measured kinetic energy

was slightly less than my calculations predicted. Possible reasons for this

are discussed.

Bibliography

Fundamentals of Physics by Resnick/Halliday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_particle_accelerator

http://miniscience.com/kits/Gauss_Rifle/index.html

http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/gauss.html

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/MariaPereyra.shtml

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