Akseleraattori

Akseleraattori is the Finnish term for accelerator and may refer to several devices or concepts that increase speed or rate in different fields. In everyday language, akseleraattori commonly denotes the accelerator pedal in a road vehicle, which controls engine power. The pedal position is sensed and translated into a throttle command, adjusting fuel and air intake. In older vehicles this was a mechanical linkage; modern systems typically use electronic throttle control (drive-by-wire) and may integrate with cruise control and engine management.

In physics, a particle akseleraattori is a device that increases the kinetic energy of charged particles by applying electric fields along a beam path. Types include linear accelerators (linacs), cyclotrons, and synchrotrons. They are used for fundamental research, medical therapy, and industrial isotope production. Large facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider exemplify high-energy accelerators and complex magnet systems to steer and focus beams.

In computing and information technology, accelerator refers to a hardware component designed to speed up specific workloads. Hardware accelerators include GPUs, TPUs, and FPGAs, which are used for graphics rendering, artificial intelligence tasks, and scientific computing. They can be integrated on chips or deployed as separate accelerator cards.

In chemistry and materials science, accelerators can describe catalysts or additives that increase the rate of a reaction, particularly in polymer curing or photochemical processes, although the term is less common than catalyst. When used, it typically specifies the chemical mechanism or application.

See also: accelerator physics, drive-by-wire, hardware accelerator.