Linacs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Devices that accelerate charged particles along a straight path for use in medical treatments or scientific research
2. machines that propel electrons or other particles in a linear trajectory primarily for radiation therapy or experimental purposes
3. linear accelerators designed to speed up subatomic particles in a direct line to generate high-energy beams for therapeutic or investigative applications

Etymology: "Linacs" is the plural of "linac," a contraction of "linear accelerator," the machine that speeds up charged particles along a straight line. The name is simply descriptive: "linear" refers to the straight path the particles travel, and "accelerator" to the device that increases their energy. Shortening long technical compounds into clipped forms like this is common in scientific and medical speech, where specialists say the short form many times a day. The shorter form is the one doctors and physicists actually use, so the full phrase "linear accelerators" is now mostly heard in explanations for outsiders. The plural simply adds the usual "-s" to the contraction.

Synonyms: linear accelerators, particle accelerators