Applications of the Strategic Defense Initiative's Compact Accelerators,
Abstract
The Strategic Defense Initiative's (SDI) investment in particle accelerator technology for its directed energy weapons program has produced breakthroughs in the size and power of new accelerators. These accelerators, in turn, have produced spinoffs in several areas: the radio frequency quadrupole linear accelerator (RFQ linac) was recently incorporated into the design of a cancer therapy unit at the Loma Linda University Medical Center, an SDI sponsored compact induction linear accelerator may replace Cobalt 60 radiation and hazardous ethylene oxide as a method for sterilizing medical products, and other SDIO funded accelerators may be used to produce the radioactive isotopes oxygen 15, nitrogen 13, carbon 11, and fluorine 18 for positron emission tomography (PET). Other applications of these accelerators include bomb detection, non destructive inspection, decomposing toxic substances in contaminated ground water, and eliminating nuclear waste.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA339072
Entities
People
- Nick Montanarelli
- Ted Lynch
Organizations
- Ballistic Missile Defense Organization