synchrotron

noun

syn·​chro·​tron ˈsiŋ-krə-ˌträn 

ˈsin-

1

: an apparatus for imparting very high speeds to charged particles by means of a combination of a high-frequency electric field and a low-frequency magnetic field

2

: synchrotron radiation

Examples of synchrotron in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Things changed when a colleague invited him to scan the fossil using synchrotron imaging, a technique described by the University of Reading as using beams of light brighter than the sun. —Jack Guy, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026

Within a few years, however, the development of advanced synchrotron X-ray CT scanning allowed a path forward. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 9 Apr. 2026

Antscan/YouTube Beamtime at major synchrotron facilities is scarce and fiercely competitive, a practical bottleneck for any effort to digitize biodiversity at scale, notes Blagoderov. —IEEE Spectrum, 5 Mar. 2026

Each scan from the synchrotron took just seconds but generated about 3,000 x-ray images of the ants. —K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing synchrotron

• proton synchrotron
• synchrotron radiation

Medical Definition

synchrotron

noun

syn·​chro·​tron ˈsiŋ-krə-ˌträn, ˈsin- 

: an apparatus for imparting very high speeds to charged particles by means of a combination of a high-frequency electric field and a low-frequency magnetic field