In this option, students explore the function and use of particle accelerators to produce radiation and to collide particles. The use of particle accelerators has allowed observations to be made of particles that may once have existed in nature but are no longer present. Investigation of these particles allows theories of the early Universe to be developed and challenged. Students investigate the development of, and comparisons between, various accelerator technologies. Particle accelerators and colliders include the Australian Synchrotron and the Large Hadron Collider.
On completion of this unit, the student should be able to apply the principles related to the behaviour of charged particles in the presence of electric and magnetic fields to describe and analyse the use of accelerator technologies in high energy physics.