File:U.S. Department of Energy - Science - 271 004 001 (18011313628).jpg

ILLUSTRATION SHOWING NAME AND SIZE OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES DISCOVERED FROM THE 1910'S TO THE 1970'S.

THE CENTER'S MAIN RESEARCH INSTRUMENT IS A TWO-MILE LONG LINEAR ELECTRON ACCELERATOR, WHICH CAN PRODUCE INTENSE BEAMS OF ELECTRONS AT ENERGIES UP TO 30 BILLION ELECTRON VOLTS (GEV). INVESTIGATORS AT THE SLAC CONDUCT EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL RESEARCH IN HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS AND WORK TO DEVELOP PARTICLE ACCELERATION TECHNIQUES AND RELEVANT INSTRUMENTATION. SLAC FACILITIES INCLUDE THE ACCELERATOR, TWO ELECTRON-POSITRON STORAGE RINGS (SPEAR, WHICH OPERATES AT ENERGIES UP TO 4 GEV, AND PEP, WHICH CAN BE RUN AT UP TO 18 GEV), AND VARIOUS DETECTION AND COMPUTATION DEVICES. ALSO, WORK HAS BEGUN ON THE SLAC LINEAR COLLIDER (SLC), WHICH WILL PROMOTE THE DIRECT COLLISION OF ELECTRON AND POSITRON BEAMS, YIELDING HIGHER ENERGIES AND ENABLING RESEARCHERS TO PROBE MORE DEEPLY INTO THE NATURE OF SUB- ATOMIC PARTICLES AND FORCES.