Purpose:Demonstrates Alpha particles.
Parts:
- Cloud chamber
- Dry Ice
- Power supply unit with leads
- Isopropyl (rubbing) Alcohol
Setup:
Take the chamber out from the base, lay some dry ice chunks on the base and place the chamber on it. Pour some liquid alcohol in to the chamber. Connect the chamber to the power supply. Set voltage to 12 V for the LED’s. Dry ice cools the chamber and causes the air inside it to become supersaturated with alcohol vapor. The classroom cloud chamber consist a naturally occurring Thorium isotope in a stainless steel needle, which is emitting alpha particles into a cooled gas. Charged particles passing through cause the vapor to condense, leaving trails that are visible to the naked eye.
