1. Plural of cyclotron; devices that accelerate charged particles (such as protons or electrons) in a spiral path using a magnetic field and electric field, used in nuclear physics research and medical applications.
Usage: technical; physics

Examples

• The laboratory operates three cyclotrons for particle acceleration experiments.
• Modern cyclotrons are used to produce radioactive isotopes for medical imaging.
• Scientists use cyclotrons to study the properties of subatomic particles.
• The hospital's cyclotrons generate tracers for PET scans.
• Early cyclotrons were invented in the 1930s by Ernest Lawrence.