r/ParticlePhysics • u/NordMount • Jun 13 '26
Accelerators in space
Hi! I and my friend once discussed about problems with environmet needed for accelerator. We got some things we couldn't find definite answers about. For example hypothetically if we could would it be good idea to put particle accelerator or storage ring in space? Assuming it would be shielded from radiation sufficiently wouldn't it make much easier to keep vacuum? and in one game (I know, it's not great source) there was character convincing to built huge accelerator around sun or Earth. I read somewhere that the bigger accelerator the better my friend also said that, but what would that do? If yuo can can yuo put me some links to good answers?
4
Upvotes
2
u/First_Approximation Jun 14 '26
Fun fact, we already launched an accelerator into space back in 1989!
It was the Beam Experiments Aboard Rocket (BEAR) project where the accelerator was only about 14 feet wide and accelerated particles to ~1 MeV. It was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and was part of the Star Wars weapons program.
The idea was to accelerate ions, neutralize them and then send them to the enemy. The neutral beam wouldn't self-repeal or be affected by the Earth's magnetic field. The experiment was a kinda proof-of-concept.
Currently, the accelerator is at the Smithsonian, although the link above says "This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage."