Cloud Chambers the authoritative guide

1
Cloud Chambersthe authoritative guide

• by Waylon Flinn, Matthew Sezbo,
• and Daniel Brue
• the (not-so)obvious authorities on everything

2
Wilson Cloud Chamber A Poisson Counter

• Run the experiment repeatedly count the number
  of trails for each trial.
• The data should match a Poisson distribution

3
Wilson Cloud Chamber Its Life in Pictures

• Radioactive particle source emitting two alpha
  particles
• Picture shown with colors inverted

4
Wilson Cloud Chamber Measuring the Magnetic Field

• Two alpha particle trails over a magnetic field.
• Field pointing out of page.
• Little or no noticeable effect on particle
  trajectories

5
Diffusion Chamber A Picture is Worth a Thousands
Words, but a Movie will Make you Money
6
Diffusion Chamber Measuring the Magnetic Field
Revisited

• Thorium source emitting alpha particles over a
  magnet.
• Slight change in particle trajectory.

7
Conclusion

• cloud chambers count particles
• cloud chambers show field interaction effects
• cloud chambers are cool!?!