Concordia College Hypervelocity Dust Accelerator

The Concordia College Auxiliary, 25KeV, Dust Accelerator System 

This system uses the same physical principles as the much larger, 2MeV,  Van de Graaff system in that tiny particles acquire a kinetic energy as they drop through a potential difference.  This system uses a much lower potential difference of only 25 KeV.  This system was initally built for studies relating to the LEAM experiment in trying to understand some of the unpredicted measurements that were made.  More recently, we have used this system as a quick way to test different dust samples prior to trying them in the Van de Graaff system.  Because this system has a dust injector identical to the one in the Van de Graaff, it is useful in determining if a particular dust sample will work.  Dust can be more readily be changed in this system than the Van de Graaff as there is no tank surrounding the injector and the vacuum system has a much smaller volume and is evacuated more quickly.  The system is currently pumped with a diffusion pump backed by a mechanical pump.

A manual for the 25KeV System was written by Dr. Carl Bailey and was put into electronic form by Carolynn Garcia and William Duppler.

The 25KeV accelerator.