You are probably referring to the cyclotron which is used to study the nucleus of matter by accelerating (speeding up) neutrons to a speed where they can be hurled at the nucleus of an atom in order to "smash" it. This is also the basics of nuclear fission which happens naturally in radioactive materials.
You might be right, but I'd also like to include this quote from Wikipedia:
A particle accelerator (or atom smasher, in the early 20th century[1]) is a device that uses electric fields to propel ions or charged subatomic particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: linear accelerators and circular accelerators. I think this might be the answer too..
A quark is the smallest particle in matter.
The particle theory is called the "particle model" or "particle theory of matter." It proposes that all matter is composed of tiny particles that are in constant motion.
This particle is the electron.
an atom
You think probable to an atom.
atom
The technical name for an atom smasher is a particle accelerator. It is a device used to accelerate charged particles to high speeds and collide them to study fundamental particles and forces in physics.
An idea is not matter (and sometimes does not matter either).
the answer is particle - it was a crossword clue & I thought there might have been a scientific answer!
Both are branches of Physics: Kinematics is the study motion, Particle Physics is the study of matter.
Light is not matter because it does not have mass and does not take up physical space like matter does. Light consists of electromagnetic waves that travel at high speeds through space.
The electron is the sub-atomic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom of matter. For anti-matter the sub-atomic particle that orbits the nucleus is the anti-electron (positron).