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KF5JRV > TECH 23.08.16 13:29l 29 Lines 1307 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 697_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Cloud Chamber
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ<KF5JRV
Sent: 160823/1115Z 697@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
Cloud Chambers
In addition to studying clouds in the field, late nineteenth-century
scientists created artificial clouds for research in the laboratory. In 1895,
C. T. R. Wilson (1869-1959) constructed a cloud chamber that produced a
supersaturated water-vapour environment from which he studied the physical and
optical properties of clouds.
Early experiments with the cloud chamber enabled Wilson to determine the
process of droplet formation. In his experiments, water vapour condensed
around ions, which were produced from exposing the chamber to high-energy
particles, such as x-rays.
In 1911, Wilson successfully photographed condensation from ionized radiation.
High-energy particles, interacting with the water vapours, ionize and leave a
visible and distinctive cloud trail. For instance, an electron produces thin
and straight lines.
Wilson's cloud chamber experiments and the subsequent ray-track photography
significantly contributed to physicists' understanding of particle behaviour
and enabled scientists to establish different categories of particle 'type'.
While physicists adopted the cloud chamber for their own research pursuits,
Wilson remained dedicated to investigations of meteorological optics until his
death.
73, Scott kf5jrv
KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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