[bey-tuh-tron or, especially Brit., bee-] 
| an accelerator in which electrons are accelerated to high energies by an electric field produced by a changing magnetic field. |
| be·ta·tron (bā'tə-trŏn', bē'-) n. A magnetic induction electron accelerator capable of accelerating electrons to energies of several hundred million electron volts. |
betatron be·ta·tron (bā'tə-trŏn', bē'-)
n.
A magnetic induction device capable of accelerating electrons to energies of several hundred million electron volts.
betatron
a type of particle accelerator that uses the electric field induced by a varying magnetic field to accelerate electrons (beta particles) to high speeds in a circular orbit. The first successful betatron was completed in 1940 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under the direction of the American physicist Donald W. Kerst, who had deduced the detailed principles that govern the operation of such a device. Modern compact betatron designs are used to produce high-energy X-ray beams for a variety of applications
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təˌtrɒn