The podcast “110 Histórias | 110 Objetos” (“110 Stories, 110 Objects”) covers the 110 years of history of Instituto Superior Técnico, through its past, present and future objects.
A collection of objects related to different fields, such as science, music, arts and sports, is the starting point for conversations with people who will tell us more about the history of these objects.
A new episode is released every week. The podcast “110 Histórias | 110 Objetos” (“110 Stories, 110 Objects”) is part of the Público newspaper podcasts.
Today’s episode (#29) – 14th January 2022: “110 Histórias | 110 Objetos” (“110 Stories, 110 Objects”) – The Van de Graaff accelerator.
There are many potential applications of nuclear physics-based technologies, such as evaluating the authenticity of art pieces and precious metals, and studying the nature of materials used in electronics and in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In 1961, Portugal witnessed the arrival of one of these technologies: The Van de Graaff accelerator. It is located at Técnico – CTN Campus, and attracted a large community of physicists. The accelerator is an electrical device that can be used to accelerate elementary particles, such protons, electrons or ions. Particle beams impact allows to study the most diverse materials and their constitution. The accelerator located at CTN was upgraded and, in the 1990s, began operating at even higher energies. This new version of the accelerator includes some parts of its predecessor. The remaining parts of the original accelerator can be found at the National Museum of Natural History and Science -Universidade de Lisboa (MUHNAC).