linear accelerators
Last reviewed 01/2018
Linear accelerators are a source of high energy X-rays, used medically to produce megavoltage irradiation - in the range of 4 to 25 MeV. Thus they can produce more energy than radioactive Cobolt, with a sharper beam edge and no decay of the source.
Linear accelerators accelerate a beam of electrons close to the speed of light. X-rays are emitted when the beam collides with a metal target. Higher energy X-rays penetrate tissue better and are relatively skin-sparing.