Accelerating Particles

It is fairly easy to obtain particles. Physicists get electrons by heating metals, they get protons by robbing hydrogen of its electron, etc.

Accelerators speed up charged particles by creating large electric fields which attract or repel the particles. This field is then moved down the accelerator, "pushing" the particles along.

In a linear accelerator the field is due to traveling electromagnetic (E-M) waves. When an E-M wave hits a bunch of particles, those in the back get the biggest boost, while those in the front get less of a boost. In this fashion, the particles "ride" the front of the E-M wave like a bunch of surfers.

This process is much easier to understand if seen as an animation