Riding a plasma wave toward high energies. (plasma waves used to accelerate electrons and other particles) (Brief Article) From: Science News | Date: April 16, 1994| Author: Peterson, Ivars | COPYRIGHT 1994 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

With the cancellation last fall of the Superconducting Super Collider, highenergy physicists are paying closer attention to alternative, potentially less costly schemes for accelerating electrons and other particles. One possibility involves the use of powerful electric fields generated by waves traveling through plasmas of charged particles at nearly the speed of light.

Last year, electrical engineer Chan Joshi and his team at the University of California, Los Angeles, ...