Particle accelerators are a major invention of the 20th century. In the last eight decades,they have evolved enormously and have fundamentally changed the way we live, think and work.Accelerators are the most powerful microscopes for viewing the tiniest inner structure of cells, genes, molecules, atoms and their constituents such as protons, neutrons, electrons, neutrinos and quarks. This opens up a whole new world for materials science, chemistry and molecular biology. Accelerators with megawatt beam power may ultimately solve a critical problem faced by our society, namely, the treatment of nuclear waste and the supply of an alternative type of energy.There are also tens of thousands of small accelerators all over the world. They are used every day for medical imaging, cancer therapy, radioisotope production, high-density chip-making, mass spectrometry, cargo x-ray/gamma-ray imaging, detection of explosives and illicit drugs, and weapons. This volume provides a comprehensive review of this driving and fascinating field.The poster (also available in 1118 x 406 mm size) which illustrates the history and development of particle accelerators from 1919 to the future can be purchased separately.

The theme of this volume, “Medical Applications of Accelerators”, is of enormous importance to human health and has a deep impact on our society.The invention of particle accelerators in the early 20th century created a whole new world for producing energetic X-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and other particle beams. Immediately these beams found revolutionary applications in medicine. There are two important yet distinct medical applications. One is that accelerators produce radioisotopes for various nuclear medicines for millions of patients each year. The other is that accelerators produce particle beams for radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. The particle beams can be X-rays (generated by high-energy electrons), protons, neutrons or heavy ions such as carbon. Today there are more than 5,000 accelerators routinely used in hospitals all over the world for nuclear medicine and cancer therapy. The great potential of accelerator applications in medicine can hardly be exaggerated.This volume contains 14 articles, all written by distinguished scholars.

The theme of this volume, ?Medical Applications of Accelerators?, is of enormous importance to human health and has a deep impact on our society.The invention of particle accelerators in the early 20th century created a whole new world for producing energetic X-rays, electrons, protons, neutrons and other particle beams. Immediately these beams found revolutionary applications in medicine. There are two important yet distinct medical applications. On the one hand, accelerators produce radioisotopes for various nuclear medicines for millions of patients each year, and on the other hand, they also produce particle beams for radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. The particle beams can be X-rays (generated by high-energy electrons), protons, neutrons or heavy ions such as carbon. Today there are more than 5,000 accelerators routinely used in hospitals all over the world for nuclear medicine and cancer therapy. The great potential of accelerator applications in medicine can hardly be exaggerated.This volume contains 14 articles, all written by distinguished scholars.

As particle accelerators strive forever increasing performance, high intensity particle beams become one of the critical demands requested across the board by a majority of accelerator users (proton, electron and ion) and for most applications. Much effort has been made by our community to pursue high intensity accelerator performance on a number of fronts. Recognizing its importance, we devote this volume to Accelerators for High Intensity Beams. High intensity accelerators have become a frontier and a network for innovation. They are responsible for many scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs that have changed our way of life, often taken for granted. A wide range of topics is covered in the fourteen articles in this volume.

Volume 10 in the series of the annual journal Reviews of Accelerator Science and Technology (RAST), will be its final volume. Its theme is 'The Future of Accelerators'. This volume, together with previous 9 volumes, gives readers a complete picture as well as detailed technical information about the accelerator field, and its many driving and fascinating aspects.This volume has 17 articles. The first 15 articles have a different approach from the previous volumes. They emphasize the more personal views, perspectives and advice from the frontier researchers rather than provide a review or survey of a specific subfield. This emphasis is more aligned with the theme of the current volume. The other two articles are dedicated respectively to Leon Lederman and Burton Richter, two prominent leaders of our community who left us last year.

Since its invention in the 1920s, particle accelerators have made tremendous progress in accelerator science, technology and applications. However, the fundamental acceleration principle, namely, to apply an external radiofrequency (RF) electric field to accelerate charged particles, remains unchanged. As this method (either room temperature RF or superconducting RF) is approaching its intrinsic limitation in acceleration gradient (measured in MeV/m), it becomes apparent that new methods with much higher acceleration gradient (measured in GeV/m) must be found for future very high energy accelerators as well as future compact (table-top or room-size) accelerators. This volume introduces a number of advanced accelerator concepts (AAC) — their principles, technologies and potential applications. For the time being, none of them stands out as a definitive direction in which to go. But these novel ideas are in hot pursuit and look promising. Furthermore, some AAC requires a high power laser system. This has the implication of bringing two different communities — accelerator and laser — to join forces and work together. It will have profound impact on the future of our field.Also included are two special articles, one on 'Particle Accelerators in China' which gives a comprehensive overview of the rapidly growing accelerator community in China. The other features the person-of-the-issue who was well-known nuclear physicist Jerome Lewis Duggan, a pioneer and founder of a huge community of industrial and medical accelerators in the US.

Since their debut in the late 1920s, particle accelerators have evolved into a backbone for the development of science and technology in modern society. Of about 30,000 accelerators at work in the world today, a majority is for applications in industry (about 20,000 systems worldwide).There are two major categories of industrial applications: materials processing and treatment, and materials analysis. Materials processing and treatment includes ion implantation (semi-conductor materials, metals, ceramics, etc.) and electron beam irradiation (sterilization of medical devices, food pasteurization, treatment of carcasses and tires, cross-linking of polymers, cutting and welding, curing of composites, etc.). Materials analysis covers ion beam analysis (IBA), non-destructive detection using photons and neutrons, as well as accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). All the products that are processed, treated and inspected using beams from particle accelerators are estimated to have a collective value of US$500 billion per annum worldwide. Accelerators are also applied for environment protection, such as purifying drinking water, treating waste water, disinfecting sewage sludge and removing pollutants from flue gases.Industrial accelerators continue to evolve, in terms of new applications, qualities and capabilities, and reduction of their costs. Breakthroughs are encountered whenever a new product is made, or an existing product becomes more cost effective. Their impact on our society continues to grow with the potential to address key issues in economics or the society of today.This volume contains fourteen articles, all authored by renowned scientists in their respective fields.