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The researchers describe their results as promising and promising, but

March 1, 2018 by Paul Fletcher

The researchers describe their results as promising and promising, but they also emphasize the limitations of the new accelerators. Most accelerators are very expensive to build, and require extremely complex materials. The researchers note on this note that "if we want to be able to create large accelerators and perform such complex systems, we need a high-dimensional approach, where there are multiple layers of structures."

"We have developed a very precise, simple and efficient way to produce high-dimensional accelerators of high energy from low mass," they conclude. "We are able to accelerate the particles by creating a wave-scattering process that is highly efficient and does not require any additional materials."

The experiments are not new, either. This is another way to make a powerful beam of light—you could use this to send a beam of light through a vacuum. But there are other ways to get around this, especially for smaller particles, like tiny particles. For example, a superlaser could beam an electric current through a particle to form a "spike" that can be absorbed by a small particle in a few seconds. Such a laser could be a real-world example of how to accelerate a single-atom-scale particle, or an electron.

This is where the big question comes to mind: What should we be using for this new particle accelerator? What should we be using for this new material? The latest research from the MIT MPS has clearly demonstrated that there can be tremendous benefits in both. The researchers note that the "light-speed" of the plasma wakefield accelerators would be enough to keep the particles moving very long, but it's not enough to keep them moving so fast that they would not get into the middle of the wave. They suggest instead that we build an even more powerful, faster, and more powerful version of this technology.