Protons give an atom its identity, electrons its personality,” is the way in which author Bill Bryson once colourfully described the fabric of all matter. It is an appropriate description of the building blocks of the universe. Each atomic particle, chemical element, and isotope reveals something about the nature, past, and potential of the matter it forms. Accelerators and other radiation technologies are invaluable tools when it comes to studying and working with atoms.
Accelerators come in many shapes and sizes and today there are more than 20 000 of them operating worldwide. They help create radiopharmaceuticals, cure diseases, preserve food, monitor the environment, strengthen materials, understand fundamental physics, study the past, and even solve crimes.
This edition of the IAEA Bulletin explores different types of accelerators and examines the many ways the IAEA supports their applications in health, agriculture, research, environment and industry. Many accelerator techniques work and deliver such diverse benefits by applying different types of radiation. A host of industrial applications using accelerators and radiation sources are critical to the global economy and to pursuing sustainable development.
The IAEA’s laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria, support researchers from around the world in using ionizing radiation in various ways. These include its application to develop crops resilient to environmental stresses; and to sterilize male insects used in a special pest control technique, that suppress mosquitos, tsetse flies, and fruit fly populations in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Further examples in this Bulletin describe ways ionizing radiation has helped preserve an ancient ship; how it is used to repurpose and recycle plastics; how it can protect food from decay and pests; and how it helps to authenticate and date objects.
At the IAEA, we are helping to foster innovation in accelerator and radiation technologies. To this end, we are hosting two important conferences this year the International Conference on Accelerators for Research and Sustainable Development, the very first of its kind; and the Second International Conference on Applications of Radiation Science and Technology, a gathering that will look beyond accelerators with insight on the greater scope of ionizing radiation sources out there.
At these events, the communities that use and most benefit from these technologies will gather, to share their experiences and best practices, and in this way to advance and propagate science for development.
As society looks to science to solve great and existential challenges, scientists are looking to accelerators and their applications for answers. As they do, the IAEA is there with them, working to ensure countries from all continents have access to this powerful and beneficial nuclear application.
