Particle accelerators have been used to reveal detailed ant anatomy

Synchrotron radiation has revealed the fur color of creatures millions of years old

When electrons are accelerated in the loop, they produce intense X-rays that can reveal properties of a sample struck by them, just as X-rays can be used to show bone structure in humans. Studying the reflected light from fossils can uncover the presence of known pigmentation compounds.

A particle accelerator allowed researchers to noninvasively examine a mummy

The mummy hailed from the Faiyum oasis, where Egyptian and Roman cultures intersected, and was analyzed using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. The device used high-energy X-rays to probe the material composition of numerous objects embedded deep inside the mummy without damaging its remains.

Scientists can create movies of atomic and molecular phenomena using X-ray free-electron lasers, in which images are produced by matter being struck by high-intensity light created by accelerating electrons.

In an X-ray free-electron laser, electromagnetic fields are used to accelerate and move electrons in wiggling patterns, causing them to emit synchronized, high-energy X-rays. This resulting light beam can strike targets up to 120 times per second to create movies of changing molecular structures and phenomena.

At CERN's Antimatter Factory, researchers create and guide antiprotons and antielectrons together to form antihydrogen, and all these antiparticles are analyzed to help scientists study the behavior of antimatter.

Explore human anatomy with these beautiful images

The Human Organ Atlas offers detailed 3D images of dozens of human organs. It was created with very bright X-rays from a particle accelerator, which is formally called a synchroton imaging method.

The Louvre in Paris has its own particle accelerator for art analysis

The Accélérateur Grand Louvre d'analyse élémentaire serves as a noninvasive tool for identifying and quantifying trace elements present in artworks by analyzing how particles backscatter off targets. This information can help detect forgeries and determine a piece's provenance. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Particle accelerators detect subatomic particles using millions of sensors

Calorimeters measure the energy of particles. Tracking devices can measure momentum and charge from the trajectory of particles, which is determined by recording tiny electrical signals. Time-of-flight detectors provide particle velocities directly and particle mass indirectly, giving physicists a suite of properties to compare with those of known matter.

Learn about five of the largest particle accelerators on Earth, which, as of 2026, are led by the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Particle beams can be used to alter the surface properties of artificial joints

Surface hardening and embedding specific elements or coatings can improve the biocompatibility and bone tissue integration of these implants. Particle accelerators are significant sources of the radioisotopes needed in medical diagnostics, and microwave linear accelerators are used in the majority of cancer irradiation treatments.

Explore 3D models of some of the most dangerous viruses, allowing us to understand these and other pathogens in new ways.

More than 97% of the world's particle accelerators are used for commercial purposes

Only a few hundred of the over 30,000 particle accelerators worldwide are used for research. Most are involved in medical imaging and treatment, food sterilization, semiconductor processing, cargo screening, and radioisotope production. They're also used to modify the properties of polymers.

Before 1932, when particle accelerators were first used for nuclear research, scientists relied on naturally radioactive substances to advance their understanding of the atomic nucleus.

Particle accelerators propel matter toward small targets at high speed

Devices like cathode-ray tube televisions were once basic particle accelerators, but modern ones, such as the Large Hadron Collider, use massive magnetic fields and circular tunnels to achieve energies high enough to recreate the conditions just after the big bang.

PET scans create images of the body by detecting light emitted from the annihilation of matter and antimatter, with the latter produced by custom chemicals containing radioactive atoms.

In 2026, researchers successfully transported antimatter in a truck using a portable trap that employed electromagnetic fields to hold 92 antiprotons.

Watch a crystal undergo X-ray diffraction to determine its internal geometry

In the early days of X-ray crystallography, getting photos of a single sample could take dozens of hours, followed by months of mathematical analysis. Today, automation and computer software can complete such tasks in a few hours.

Particle detection has evolved from cloud and bubble chambers to digital 3D displays

As invisible particles passed through cloud and bubble chambers, they disrupted supersaturated vapor and superheated liquid, respectively, creating trails that served as proxies for cosmic rays. The transition from photographed events to digital sensors enhanced data collection and accuracy.

Flip through centuries-old artifacts in this 3D library

Archaeology is hands-on work, giving researchers the ability to analyze artifacts from as many sides as possible to find marks left by those that came before us. While looking at pictures of artifacts gives you some insight, you're limited to...

The most common type of particle accelerator is a linear electron accelerator, which fires particles in a straight line, making them useful for the intense, targeted beams needed in cancer treatment.

As of 2023, the world's smallest particle accelerator is smaller than a penny

The prototype is an example of a photonic accelerator, which utilizes tiny lasers to accelerate electrons rather than relying on oscillating electromagnetic fields to move them. It can deliver about 1 electron per second with energies equivalent to those found in cathode-ray tube televisions.

Explore a 3D model of the experimental setup Rosalind Franklin used to take Photo 51

To capture the X-ray diffraction image of DNA from the thymus of a calf, Franklin built a humidity-controlling camera to isolate the B form of DNA. The exposure lasted 60 hours and produced a cross pattern, indicating a helical structure.

Antimatter was discovered by examining debris from collisions between atmospheric gases and cosmic rays—high-energy matter particles from space.

Take a 360-degree tour of ATLAS, one of two general-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider and the largest particle detector by volume ever built. (VR device-compatible)

In 1997, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory identified 'positron geysers'—fountains of antimatter particles—emerging from near the center of the Milky Way.

How radioactive isotopes are created and used for medical diagnostics

In particle accelerators, protons can be accelerated into other atoms to create radioactive isotopes, which can be attached to specific molecules to create radiotracers that are taken up by specific cells. Radiotracers can emit particles that produce light once they collide with an electron, and this light can be captured by a PET scanner to diagnose specific ailments.

Anthropic's Claude Science is an AI workbench connected to more than 60 scientific databases, designed to assist scientific research in molecular and cellular biology and drug discovery.

Computed tomography scans use X-rays to create 3D internal images

Just as shadows can reveal the shape of obstacles blocking visible light, the donut-shaped CT scanner measures how X-rays are blocked, revealing the shape of bones, organs, tissue, and other matter along a cross-section. As it rotates, the scanner combines these cross-sections to build a model of the internal structure.

In 1971, a $35 ferret helped clean the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Lacking cleaning robots, Fermilab scientists purchased a ferret named Felicia when metal slivers obstructing accelerated particles were identified. They trained her to run strings through vacuum tubes more than 90 meters long, and cleanser-dipped swabs were then tied to the strings and pulled through to remove the debris.

Simulate the impact of an antimatter bomb, which releases energy from the annihilation of matter with antimatter, around the world.

Watch an animated visualization of how the Large Hadron Collider works, including how particles are accelerated through a series of machines and how collision data is collected and distributed worldwide.

Research suggests ants are the most abundant insect on the planet, with an estimated 2.5 million of them for every human on Earth.

Scientists can suck animal DNA from the air

A look at how researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track and conserve wildlife.

The giant African harvester ant is rising in popularity as a pet and fueling illegal global trade, with creatures sometimes costing as much as $220.

Airport security scanners use X-rays to infer baggage contents, with newer machines combining images taken at multiple angles and with various X-ray energies for improved threat detection.

In 2017, a hidden chamber was found in the Great Pyramid of Giza by measuring particles created in the collisions between cosmic rays and atmospheric particles.

If particle accelerators did create black holes by packing tremendous energy into a small volume, then trillions would be created in Earth's atmosphere daily by cosmic rays.

X-ray diffraction reveals atomic structures by analyzing how crystals scatter X-rays

X-ray diffraction involves rotating a crystal in an X-ray beam while a detector captures the resulting diffraction patterns, which depend on the crystal’s internal structure. The mathematical principles behind the technique won the 1915 Nobel Prize and improved crystallography.

Although built from 1996 to 2008, the Large Hadron Collider relies on accelerators built starting in 1954 to help bring protons to 99.9999991% the speed of light—about 2.73 million football fields per second.

The secret lives of cells

Cutting-edge microscopy has revealed previously unseen interactions of biological molecules within their cellular environment, enabling scientists to observe and analyze the molecules in a holistic view. This podcast explains the minute advancements made over the last few decades in observing cells, revealing how scientists have come and what the future holds for the field.

Explore the components of the linear particle accelerator at Los Alamos

Located at the site of bomb design and development for the Manhattan Project, LANSCE features an injector system for hydrogen ions, a series of tanks with alternating electric fields for proton acceleration, and an isotope production facility that creates radioisotopes for medical treatments.

Photo 51's distinct 'X' pattern and spacing provided data to validate DNA's model

Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling captured the photo after bombarding DNA fibers with X-rays and observing how the beams were deflected. The photo had a 62-hour exposure time and indicated a helical structure for DNA.

View the most expensive materials on Earth, led by antimatter and other elements forged in particle accelerators.

Antimatter can be created from dark lightning—high-energy light emitted by deflected electrons after they are accelerated to near the speed of light by thunderstorms.

A beam of neutrinos can be created by firing a beam of high-energy protons at a target to produce unstable particles that decay into neutrinos.

Anthropic's Frontier Red Team assesses the dangers of its AI tools through 'evals'—safety tests that probe models to disclose sensitive information.

Depictions of antimatter in science fiction include misleading portrayals of it coming from parallel universes, being mined from asteroids, and serving as a workable laser beam.

Thunderquakes—seismic waves created when lightning strikes the ground—have enabled scientists to image underground environments near Earth's surface by detecting vibrations along subterranean fiber-optic cables.

Watch the motion of an individual photon using a high-speed camera

Although light travels over 3 million football fields per second, cameras that capture trillions of frames per second can observe individual particles of light as they interact with atoms in materials they travel through. Such observations can be used to determine the speed of light in different materials.

How paleos dig up dinosaurs

Follow Kelsie Abrams and the dig team from the field to the lab, as they unravel mysteries from the end of the age of dinosaurs.

Court documents show that Anthropic bought and destructively scanned millions of books to gather high-quality text to train the software underlying its AI products.