Investigation of Maximum Operating Voltage of a Van de Graaff Accelerator
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2018 10:00 AM
End Date
10-4-2018 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Physics and Astronomy
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Andrew Roberts
Mentor's Department
Physics and Astronomy
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Since it was invented in 1931 by Robert J. Van de Graaff, the Van de Graaff particle accelerator has been used in various fields, especially nuclear physics. MSU has an AN-400, 400 kV Van de Graaff accelerator which was bought in the 1970s.Various experiments have been done with this accelerator, including experiments with X-rays during the 1980s and several papers were published. In the late 1980s the accelerator was having operational problems and was put out of commission. But during the last decade the accelerator has been rebuilt and tested. Further testing of the machine is required, especially its maximum operating voltage under different insulating gas mixtures and pressure. The AN-400 operates up to 400kV, some accelerators can go to voltages in the order of a million volts. Such high voltages demand that Van de Graaff generators use dielectric, non-reactive gases as insulators instead of air, as air is 21% oxygen which is a reactive gas. An experiment was done in 1963 to find the ideal insulating gas mixture and pressure which would allow voltage to be maximized. Further experiments were done in 1965 and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) came out as the dielectric gas of choice. But SF6 has become hard to obtain over the years because it is now prohibitively expensive and can be environmentally harmful. So the purpose of this project is to find an equally efficient and more cost effective alternative to SF6 so experiments at higher energies and pressures could be performed.
Investigation of Maximum Operating Voltage of a Van de Graaff Accelerator
CSU Ballroom
Since it was invented in 1931 by Robert J. Van de Graaff, the Van de Graaff particle accelerator has been used in various fields, especially nuclear physics. MSU has an AN-400, 400 kV Van de Graaff accelerator which was bought in the 1970s.Various experiments have been done with this accelerator, including experiments with X-rays during the 1980s and several papers were published. In the late 1980s the accelerator was having operational problems and was put out of commission. But during the last decade the accelerator has been rebuilt and tested. Further testing of the machine is required, especially its maximum operating voltage under different insulating gas mixtures and pressure. The AN-400 operates up to 400kV, some accelerators can go to voltages in the order of a million volts. Such high voltages demand that Van de Graaff generators use dielectric, non-reactive gases as insulators instead of air, as air is 21% oxygen which is a reactive gas. An experiment was done in 1963 to find the ideal insulating gas mixture and pressure which would allow voltage to be maximized. Further experiments were done in 1965 and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) came out as the dielectric gas of choice. But SF6 has become hard to obtain over the years because it is now prohibitively expensive and can be environmentally harmful. So the purpose of this project is to find an equally efficient and more cost effective alternative to SF6 so experiments at higher energies and pressures could be performed.
Recommended Citation
Hasan, Oishik and Lukas Halberg. "Investigation of Maximum Operating Voltage of a Van de Graaff Accelerator." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 10, 2018.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2018/poster-session-A/39
