cockcroft and walton voltage multiplier
A scientist adjusts the dials on a Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier in a laboratory.
Noun: A Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier is a specific type of high-voltage electrical circuit. It uses a series of rectifiers and capacitors arranged in a ladder-like network to generate a direct current (DC) output voltage that is a multiple of the peak voltage of an alternating current (AC) input source. It is historically significant as a machine for accelerating charged particles.
This term refers specifically to the circuit design pioneered by John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton. It is used in technical contexts related to physics, electrical engineering, and particle acceleration. * The early particle accelerator was built using a Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier. * To achieve the necessary potential for the experiment, they constructed a Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier.
- The design is often called a Cockcroft-Walton generator or multiplier.
- It is a classic example of a voltage multiplier circuit, a category that includes other designs like the Villard cascade or the Greinacher circuit.
- While historically used for particle physics, modern applications of the circuit principle can be found in some types of high-voltage power supplies, X-ray generators, and laser systems.
- Cockcroft-Walton generator: A synonymous term.
- Voltage multiplier: The general category of circuits to which the Cockcroft and Walton design belongs.
- Cascade multiplier: Another descriptive term for this ladder-like circuit structure.
- Particle accelerator: A type of machine for which this voltage multiplier was an early key component.
- Cascade voltage multiplier
- Cockcroft-Walton generator
- Rectifier: A device that converts AC to DC, a key component in the multiplier.
- Capacitor: A device that stores electrical energy, another key component.
- Electrostatic generator: A broader class of high-voltage machines that generate static electricity, differing in operating principle.
A scientist adjusts the dials on a Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier in a laboratory.
- a high-voltage machine in which rectifiers charge capacitors that discharge and drive charged particles through an accelerating tube