The Cloud Chamber Experiment

The cloud chamber was one of the primary tools used to conduct the first experiments in the starting of the field of particle physics. Experiments were conducted from the 1920s to the 1950s, at which point more elaborate detectors were conceived which had several benefits. Nonetheless, the cloud chamber is still a very valuable tool to look at particle interactions. In this experiment you will use a version of the Wilson Cloud Chamber [1] to study several aspects of both the operation of the chamber itself and the use of the chamber to explore the nature of the particles. This lab allows a great deal of flexibility in terms of the specific experiment chosen, and has the possibility for extension of any of the suggested procedures.