HEAVY-ION EFFECTS IN NON BIOLOGICAL MATTER

The effects of swift heavy ions in non-biological matter have been ext ensively studied during the last few years. Some results on non-biolog ical solids are summarised here which might help to analyse comparativ ely the effects of high linear energy transfer (LET) particles in biol ogical and non-biological matter. Special emphasis is put on the effec ts recently observed in organic solids. The experimental study of high -LET effects involves the use of accelerators and irradiation faciliti es. However, the requirements differ markedly from one study to the ne xt, and ion accelerators of very different types have been used. A syn thetic review of the existing sources and facilities is presented.