The author (center) and colleague Brad Pollock (right) adjust a benchtop LWFA setup at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [Courtesy of LLNL]
Particle accelerators—in which electromagnetic fields push charged particles such as electrons, protons, ions or positrons to near the speed of light—have been revolutionizing science, medicine, industry and national security for more than a century. Some 30,000 of these machines are now active around the world.