accelˈerātor noun

Any person or thing that accelerates, esp a substance that accelerates chemical action, a nerve or muscle that increases rate of action, an apparatus or device for increasing the speed of a machine, computer, etc, or one for imparting high energies to atomic particles. Devices for accelerating charged particles include the cyclotron type (for accelerating the heavier particles, such as protons; used in the treatment of cancer), and modifications of this, such as the synchrocyclotron type and the synchrotron type (for accelerating electrons). Other types of accelerators are the proton synchrotron (of which examples are the cosmotron and the bevatron), the betatron (for accelerating electrons; used in medicine and industry), linear accelerators and electron ring accelerators

accelˈeratory adjective

acceleromˈeter noun

An instrument for measuring acceleration of aircraft, etc

accelerated aging test noun (elec eng)

A test for the stability of cables, using twice the normal voltage

accelerated fatigue tests plural noun (engineering)

The repeated application to a machine or component of simulated operating loads to determine its safe fatigue life before it is reached in service

acceleration principle or accelerator principle noun

In Keynesian economic analysis, the relationship between a sustained rise in the sales of an item and the increase in the ordering by firms of the extra factory equipment made necessary by the increased output

accelerator board or accelerator card noun (computing)

An additional circuit board to speed up some aspect of the operation of a computer

electron /i-lekˈtron/

1. A minute particle charged with electricity, or a unit charge having inertia, normally forming part of an atom but capable of isolation as in cathode rays
2. A natural alloy of gold and silver used in ancient times (also Latinized as elecˈtrum)

electron beam noun

A stream of electrons, esp in a cathode-ray tube

electron camera noun

Any device that converts an optical image into a corresponding electric current directly by electronic means

electron capture noun

The capture of an electron by the nucleus of its own atom, the change of a proton into a neutron decreasing by one the atomic number of the atom

electron diffraction noun

The diffraction of a beam of electrons by crystal, used in the study of crystal structures

electron gun noun

The arrangement of electrodes in a cathode-ray tube which produces the electron beam

electron lens noun

A device for focusing an electron beam

electron micrograph noun

A photograph obtained by substituting a photographic plate for the fluorescent viewing screen of an electron microscope

electron microscope noun

A microscope that makes use of a beam of electrons instead of light

electron optics singular noun

The study of the effects of electric and magnetic fields on the direction of beams of electrons

electron pair noun

Two valence electrons shared by adjacent nuclei, so forming a bond

electron probe noun

An X-ray device that bombards the specimen under examination with a very narrow beam of electrons, allowing non-destructive analysis

electron ring accelerator noun

An accelerator in which an intense ring of circulating electrons, being accelerated, can carry along and accelerate protons or stripped ions

electron shell noun

A group of electrons surrounding a nucleus of an atom and having adjacent energy levels

electron telescope noun

An optical instrument with electronic image converter used with a normal telescope

electron tube noun

An electronic device in which the electron conduction is in a vacuum or gas inside a gas-tight enclosure, eg a thermionic valve

elecˈtronvolt noun

A unit of energy equal to that acquired by an electron when accelerated by a potential of one volt