The first stage in the experimental process is to produce and harness the particles we want to accelerate. This is straight forward. Electrons are given off when a metal is heated and robbing a hydrogen atom of its electron leaves us with a proton. Electrons and protons are the best particles to use in accelerators because they are charged and stable. Pions and Kaons can also be accelerated but their lifetimes are relatively short, limiting the purity of beams.
Electric fields speed up the particles which strike a target.
Accelerators based on electromagnetism have been used since the 1930 s. The target may either be fixed or take the form of another fast moving particle. Detectors set up around the collision record what happens. At first, particles reached only modest energies using accelerator designs such as the cyclotron. Today, energies of up to TeV can be achieved.