The cloud chamber is a device used by physicists to observe particle trails through the principle of condensation nuclei. It was invented by Charles Wilson and was used to discover the positron. It can be built at home for around $50 and can observe various particle trails, including the curvature of ionized particles towards a magnet.
The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber or Wilson cloud chamber, is a device used by physicists to observe particle trails. It works only with ionizing radiation. Other devices that accomplish the same thing by different means are the bubble chamber, wire chamber, and spark chamber. One of the cloud chamber’s biggest claims to fame is that it was used to discover the positron, the first observed form of antimatter.
The operation of the cloud chamber is based on the principle of condensation nuclei. In supersaturated water or alcohol vapor, even a tiny charged particle ionizes the molecules in the medium as it moves through it, causing the water around it to condense and create observable moisture trails. A supersaturated solution means that the air holds as much fluid (usually water or alcohol) as possible. Air is pumped with the vapor until it begins to collect at the bottom of the chamber, indicating that the medium is supersaturated. Small perturbations in the air cause the formation of liquid which then sinks to the bottom.
The cloud chamber was originally invented by Scottish physicist Charles Wilson. The discovery process began when he began building artificial cloud chambers in an attempt to replicate the optical phenomena of halos, which are small circular rainbows formed in fogs filled with particles of uniform diameter. Halos accompany the well-known phenomena of the Brocken spectrum, observed when the low-lying sun casts a long shadow in fog.
You can build your own cloud chamber out of household materials for about $50. Essentially, you fill a clear chamber, like a fish tank, with isopropyl alcohol until it’s supersaturated. Coat the bottom of the chamber with dry ice, then cover the dry ice with metal and cardboard, in that order. Wet a piece of felt with alcohol and place it under the lid of the chamber. Seal the chamber closed. Illuminate the cloud chamber with a slide projector and before long you’ll see your own trails, from natural cosmic rays. Many interesting particle trails, of different varieties, can be observed using this inexpensive cloud chamber. If you put a strong magnet on the bottom, you can even see the curvature of the ionized particles towards it.
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