1. A type of particle accelerator or synchrotron used to accelerate protons and other particles to high energies for nuclear physics research.
Usage: historical; physics; The term is largely associated with mid-20th-century particle physics experiments.

Examples

• The cosmotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory was one of the most powerful particle accelerators of its time.
• Scientists used the cosmotron to study the properties of subatomic particles.
• The cosmotron represented a major advance in nuclear physics research during the 1950s.
• Early cosmotron experiments helped physicists understand the structure of matter.
• The development of the cosmotron enabled researchers to probe deeper into atomic nuclei.