A beam crossing in a
particle collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
occurs when two packets of
particle
In the Outline of physical science, physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small wikt:local, localized physical body, object which can be described by several physical property, physical or chemical property, chemical ...
s, going in opposite directions, reach the same point in space. Most of the particles in each packet cross each other, but a few may collide, producing other particles that may be observed in a
particle detector
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify ionizing particles, such as those produced by nuc ...
. In a
linear collider
A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear be ...
there is only one location where beam crossings occur, while in a modern accelerator ring there are a few locations (
LHC, for example, has four); it is at these points that detectors are placed.
Experimental particle physics
Accelerator physics
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