Wilson cloud chamber
Quick Summary
The Wilson cloud chamber, invented by Scottish physicist C.T.R. Wilson, is a type of radiation detector. It works by using a supersaturated vapor that condenses into tiny liquid droplets around ions. These ions are created when energetic charged particles pass through the chamber.
The supersaturation in a Wilson cloud chamber is achieved by rapidly expanding the saturated vapor, which causes it to cool. This process must be repeated for each use. The trails of condensed droplets reveal the paths of particles like alpha particles, beta particles, or protons. This invention was crucial for studying radioactivity, X rays, and cosmic rays, and it eventually led to the development of the bubble chamber.
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- Patrick Blackett
…he began to develop the Wilson cloud chamber—a device that detects the path of ionizing particles—into an automatic instrument for the study of cosmic rays. Using the cloud chamber, he and Italian physicist Giuseppe Occhialini were able to identify the positron that had been discovered by American physicist Carl Anderson…
Read More…he began to develop the Wilson cloud chamber—a device that detects the path of ionizing particles—into an automatic instrument for the study of cosmic rays. Using the cloud chamber, he and Italian physicist Giuseppe Occhialini were able to identify the positron that had been discovered by American physicist Carl Anderson…
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C.T.R. Wilson…for his invention of the Wilson cloud chamber, which became widely used in the study of radioactivity, X rays, cosmic rays, and other nuclear phenomena.
Read More…for his invention of the Wilson cloud chamber, which became widely used in the study of radioactivity, X rays, cosmic rays, and other nuclear phenomena.
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