The maximum voltage at the center of a typical tandem electrostatic accelerator is 6.0 MV. If the distance from one end of the acceleration tube to the midpoint is 12 m, what is the magnitude of the average electric field in the tube under these conditions?

(a) 41,000 V/m;

(b) 250,000 V/m;

(c) 500,000 V/m;

(d) 6,000,000 V/m.

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is a technique used to determine the structure and composition of materials. A beam of ions (typically helium ions) is accelerated to high energy and aimed at a sample. By analyzing the distribution and energy of the ions that are scattered from (that is, deflected by collisions with) the atoms in the sample, researchers can determine the sample’s composition. To accelerate the ions to high energies, a tandem electrostatic accelerator may be used. In this device, negative ions (He^-) start at a potential V = 0 and are accelerated by a high positive voltage at the midpoint of the accelerator. The high voltage produces a constant electric field in the acceleration tube through which the ions move. When accelerated ions reach the midpoint, the electrons are stripped off, turning the negative ions into doubly positively charged ions (He⁺⁺). These positive ions are then repelled from the midpoint by the high positive voltage there and continue to accelerate to the far end of the accelerator, where again V =  0.