[ak-sel-uh-rey-ter] 
| 1. | a person or thing that accelerates. |
| 2. | Automotive. a device, usually operated by the foot, for controlling the speed of an engine. |
| 3. | British. any two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle, as a motorcycle or motor scooter. |
| 4. | Photography. a chemical, usually an alkali, added to a developer to increase the rate of development. |
| 5. | Also called accelerant. Chemistry. any substance that increases the speed of a chemical change, as one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber or that hastens the setting of concrete, mortar, plaster, or the like. |
| 6. | Anatomy, Physiology. any muscle, nerve, or activating substance that quickens a movement. |
| 7. | Also called atom smasher, particle accelerator. Physics. an electrostatic or electromagnetic device, as a cyclotron, that produces high-energy particles and focuses them on a target. |
| 8. | Economics. acceleration coefficient. |
| particle accelerator n. A device, such as a cyclotron or linear accelerator, that accelerates charged subatomic particles or nuclei to high energies. Also called atom smasher. |
A machine (sometimes called an “atom smasher”), often very large, that brings elementary particles (usually either protons or electrons) to a very high speed and then allows them to collide with a target. From the resulting behavior of the particles and the target, scientists deduce the structure of the particles.
Note: Almost all of our knowledge of the nucleus and of elementary particles depends on experiments using particle accelerators.
accelerator ac·cel·er·a·tor (āk-sěl'ə-rā'tər)
n.
One that increases rapidity of action or function.
A nerve, muscle, or substance that quickens movement or response.
A catalyst.
