Science: Cyclotron's Rival

A new electron-hurling machine, weightiest contribution to atomic physics since the cyclotron was invented in 1931, was unveiled before science and the world last week. It can hurl electrons—particles of negative electricity—at nearly the speed of light. It can produce 20,000,000-volt X-rays, some ten times more than the world's biggest X-ray machine. It can out-radiate all the extracted radium supplies on earth—and its further abilities have scarcely been explored. While U.S. scientists speculated upon the discoveries the device might lead to, they welcomed to their front ranks its brilliant young inventor, Donald William...