John Kudrysch History of Chemistry
Help Received: Jaffe Book
The cyclotron was invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1932, and it became a new device used in the world of science for that benefited physists and chemists greatly (1). Using high frequency oscillations, particles between electrodes would be bounced around to such an extent that they would be rotating outwards from a circular path away from the center in the magnetic field (1). This device has paved the way for physisists and chemists to discover new uses, both laboratory and practical, and elements. Because of this device, new elements and different variations of elements could be discovered and experimented with. Isotopes could be formed and found, deuterium being an isotope discovered in Colombia University (1). Lawrence used his cyclotron to shoot deuterium against lithium, only to produce helium as an effect. His fame started to spread rapidly, and in no time at all he was recognized for his work and cyclotrons were being produced and manned around many other laboratories and industries. The world of nuclear physics adopted the cyclotron and used it greatly, and this device gave the notion that the transmutation of elements, previously thought to be completely possible by the alchemists of old, could be possible simply because of the particle bombardments that this cyclotron can produce (1). This device also gave the world of medicine a chance because of its ability to isolate particles, where today these particles can be used in treatments for diseases such as cancer.
- Jaffe. Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry, Dover Publications Inc, New York, USA, (1976) pp. 265-282.