Understanding how helical, curved beams operate — how their spiral cuts accommodate angular and parallel misalignment, axial motion, and system vibrations — is the key to knowing how they will perform ...

There are many applications for particle accelerators, even outside research facilities, but for the longest time they have been large, cumbersome machines, not to mention very expensive to operate.

Bright idea: researchers in China have found a new way to accelerate electrons using pulses of light. (Courtesy: iStock/7io) A laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) that guides its laser beams along ...