Applications of Accelerator Technology and its Relevance to Nuclear Technology

Charged particle accelerators were originally conceived and developed to explore the mysteries of atom in particular and to understand the structure of matter in general. Starting their journey since birth about 75 years ago, they have led to several discoveries, remarkable technological devolvement and useful applications in various walks of human life. Accelerators have evolved in various shapes and sizes, namely, electrostatic accelerators, linear accelerators, cyclotrons, synchrotrons, betatrons, storage rings, colliders etc. They have played fundamental role in our understanding about atom and nucleus, nuclear structure, sub-nuclear particles, fundamental forces, etc. In this paper role of accelerators in research and applications will be described with a particular emphasis on the accelerator programmes in India.