The Non Scaling FIxed Field Alternating Gradient (NS-FFAG) Accelerator

粒子加速器被用来产生带电粒子束，如质子或电子，然后用于医学和工业以及纯研究的各种应用。迫切需要更容易操作和维护、更可靠和紧凑、但更灵活和高效的新型加速器。一种这样的加速器是无比例固定场交替梯度(NS-FFAG)加速器，它是一个非常有前途的候选加速器，但还没有人制造出这样的机器，在这样的机器可以商业化之前，还有许多技术挑战需要克服。机会出现了，这可能使NS-FFAG成为一种新型的带电粒子治疗机，用于治疗癌症。这类机器的尺寸更小，可靠性更高，灵活性更强，在提供更有效的治疗方法的同时，应该会降低拥有成本。质子束或更重的粒子，如碳离子，可以在癌症中直接沉积更多的辐射，而在周围健康组织中损失的能量要少得多。NS-FFAG还可用于许多其他目的。它们可以用来在不排放大量温室气体的情况下帮助发电，同时减少产生的长期核废料的数量。它们可能是新一代非常强烈的中子源的核心，用于研究材料的结构和化学反应的动力学，物理学家、化学家、生物学家、工程师和许多行业都对此感兴趣。他们还可以在基本粒子物理学中发挥重要的作用，也许会带来关于我们今天看到的宇宙起源和结构的新发现。我们是一群来自许多不同学科的科学家，他们相信无标度固定场交替梯度加速器可能有许多优势。英国在开发这项新技术方面处于独特的有利地位，对科学和社会都有重大好处。国际上对NS-FFAG也很感兴趣。在英国，这些机器能够满足上面列出的期望，这将使英国走在这一令人兴奋的新发展的前沿。

Particle accelerators are used to produce beams of charged particles such as protons or electrons which are then used for a wide variety of applications in medicine and industry and for pure research. There is a compelling need for new types of accelerator that are easier to operate and maintain and are more reliable and compact, yet are more flexible and efficient. One such accelerator is the non-scaling fixed field alternating gradient (NS-FFAG) accelerator, and it is a very promising candidate, but no-one has yet built such a machine, and there are many technical challenges to be overcome before such a machine could be used commercially.An opportunity is arising which could allow the NS-FFAG to be used as a new type of charged particle therapy machine for treating cancer. The reduced size, increased reliability and flexibility of such machines should all lead to lower costs of ownership while delivering more effective therapies. Beams of protons or heavier particles such as carbon ions can deposit much more radiation directly in the cancer while losing much less energy in the surrounding healthy tissue. NS-FFAGs could also be used for many other purposes. They could be used to help generate electricity without significant greenhouse gas emissions while reducing the amount of long-lived nuclear waste produced. They could be at the heart of a new generation of very intense sources of neutrons for studying the structure of materials and the dynamics of chemical reactions, of interest to physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers and many industries. They could also play a significant rle in elementary particle physics, perhaps leading to new discoveries about the origin and structure of the universe we see around us today.We are a group of scientists from many different disciplines who believe that the non-scaling fixed field alternating gradient accelerator could have many advantages. The UK is uniquely well placed to develop this new technology, with significant benefits to both science and society. There is also a lot of international interest in NS-FFAGs. The demonstration in this country that these machines are able to meet the expectations listed above would place the UK in the forefront of this exciting new development.