Penning Trap

Charged-particle store combining a homogeneous magnetic field with a quadrupole electric field — used from CERN antiprotons to g−2 measurements.

Specifications & Metrics

type

Trapping

originator

Frans Penning & Hans Dehmelt

introduced

1950s

Core Principles & Analysis

• A device for the storage of charged particles using a homogeneous magnetic field and a quadrupole electric field.
• Penning traps are in use in many laboratories worldwide, including CERN, to store and investigate anti-particles such as antiprotons.
• The Penning trap was invented by Frans Michel Penning and Hans Georg Dehmelt, who built the first trap in the 1950s.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Penning trap