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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BETATRON

Abstract

THE magnetic induction equation of electro-dynamics, curl E=-B/C suggested to many that a free charge could be caused to acquire great energy if it were allowed to circulate about a varying magnetic field. It suggested to W. F. G. Swann1 that fluctuations in the magnetic field in interstellar space might be responsible for the acceleration of free electrons to the energy of cosmic rays. It likewise suggested an attempt made in 1904 by G. F. Hull to detect the mechanical force of this electric field on an electrostatically charged cylinder surrounding a varying magnetic induction.

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KERST, D. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BETATRON. Nature 157, 90–95 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157090a0

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