apparatus that detects high-energy particles passing through a supersaturated vapor; each particle ionizes molecules along its path and small droplets condense on them to produce a visible track
A detector filled with a gas close to its condensation point, where the ionizing particles' trajectories materialize in the form of tracks made of droplets
A gas-filled device in which the path of charged subatomic particles can be detected by the formation of chains of droplets on ions generated by their passage. It is also used to infer the presence of neutral particles and to study certain nuclear reactions. Radiation detector developed by C.T.R. Wilson. Its detecting medium is a supersaturated vapour (see saturation) that condenses around ions produced by the passage of energetic charged particles, such as alpha particles, beta particles, or protons. In a Wilson cloud chamber, supersaturation is caused by the cooling induced by a sudden expansion of the saturated vapour by the motion of a piston or an elastic membrane. In a diffusion chamber, the saturated vapour is cooled to supersaturation as it diffuses into a region kept cold by a coolant such as solid carbon dioxide or liquid helium
A chamber in which charged subatomic particles appear as trails of liquid droplets
A glass-domed chamber filled with moist vapor When certain types of atomic particles pass through the chamber they leave a cloud-like track much like the vapor trail of a jet plane This permits scientists to "see" these particles and study their motion
A device which is used to determine which elementary particles are being generated in a nuclear reaction What happens is that the elementary particles go zipping through a saturated water fog, and the ionized water molecules provide nucleation centers for the condensation of water From following these tracks, the identities of the particles can be determined
A device for observing the paths of ionizing particles, based on the principle that supersaturated vapor condenses more readily on ions than on neutral molecules