In their efforts to probe more deeply into the mysterious subatomic world and its host of recently discovered particles, scientists are rapidly refining and adding to the spectacular tools of high-energy physics: the massive and powerful bevatrons, cyclotrons, synchrotrons and linear accelerators. The latter are designed to fire beams of particles, usually high-speed electrons, down a long copper tube at experimental targets. Stanford University, for example, now has a two-mile-long atom-smashing model called SLAC (TIME, July 22). SLAC, which stands for Stanford Linear Accelerator, is just beginning its experimental program. Yet last week Stanford Physicist Alan Schwettman reported in...
Physics: A Cool New Atom Smasher
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