Homemade Expansion Cloud Chamber

[crnazvijezda]

Great video!

I have two questions for you:

1. I have got Isopropyl alcohol (video head cleaning liquid) but there is not any word about percentage. Would this kind of alcohol be usefull for cloud chamber?

2. Can I use LED diode for source of light or need light bulb (maybe because of heating)?

Thanks for very good instructions!

[teralabUK]

@crnazvijezda Your head cleaning fluid is probably quite dilute alcohol. It should still work though. It might just take a bit longer to evaporate. LED lighting will be fine as long as it is bright. A modern high intensity white LED should work better than a filament lamp.

[RubertaLang]

Thanks for your demonstration, very well done!

[lecorfec]

Très belle démonstration!

even if I don't understand one peculiar point: are cloud chambers only working with low partial pressure of alcohol or would it works with "alcohol only" vapour?

In this case coud we imagine a cloud chamber of condensing "full" vapour at room temperature and a fraction of atmospheric presure ? Thank again for your work!

[ConnorXV]

hey good video,

Would i be able to ditch the syringe and instead heat the glass to quite a high temperature when attach it to the lid, so when it cools down it leaves a slight vacuum? i say this because it should then be 'permanent' shouldn't it? I want a little desk top piece like this to sit in my room so i can stare at it.

[marmaladekamikaze]

Is this Chamber suitable to be used to detect background Cosmic rays?

[yellowmetalcyborg]

VERY NICE! I'm definately trying this.

Just one question though, I have a voltage amplifier from a disposable camera that can reach voltages of over 300V, can I use it even though the amperage is pathetically low?

[teralabUK]

The current required is practically zero. A camera flash supply should work fine. The peak current available from a camera flash is actually very high if the capacitor is still in circuit. Please be careful.

[yellowmetalcyborg]

@teralabUK Nah, don't worry, I removed the capacitor, for safety's sake. I've used high voltage lots of times, I am aware of the dangers, thanks for your concern.

[MindCrazedBanjo]

@yellowpetalcyborg Make sure you switch off at the fuse box! and remove the fuse before you start playing with electricity.

[tootoll]

I'm experiencing a problem and i hope you can help me. I've made an effort to reproduce your experiment. I have a cube made out of glass that's connected to a vacuum pump of sufficient capacity producing vacuum by expansion. I also have an outside electric field ranging from 10-300V. I have a problem spotting alpha particle traces (source: Am241). Is that possible with the naked eye? Do i need a camera? A high speed or a convectional one?

Responde please tootoll@hotmail.com

[teralabUK]

The tracks are easy to see with the unaided eye. You don't need a vacuum pump. I simply used a 50ml plastic syringe. You need something soaked in high purity isoplropyl alcohol in the chamber. You also need a bright light and ideally a black background to view the tracks against. It obviously has to be air tight.

[coolsciencetech]

so in this setup, there is no need for any cooling device? Seems to work great! I might build one because I have no idea where to get dry ice and don't really feel like paying for it :P

[clagwell]

Very intelligent presentation. Thanks for sharing !

[srosefx]

what a nicely made video, very clear concise and accessible to children and not condescending like most scientific things for the public these days.

not many people see the expansion chamber so this is a valuable film in an already over saturated diffusion chamber videos.

well done

[ema576]

wow what an ass load of work to do when you could just put the container on dry ice

[teralabUK]

Thanks, that's really helpful. This is a demonstration of an expansion cloud chamber, not a diffusion cloud chamber. There are hundreds of diffusion cloud chamber videos on You Tube.

[teslacoiler]

a small quantity of Am 241 can be found inside a commercial smoke detectors; since there are two different detecting system and only one contains americium, make shure to buy an ionization one

anyway, great experiment!

[ytmachx]

Absolutely fantastic demonstration!

[thecaster]

What was your alpha emitting source? Will Americum work?

[teralabUK]

It is americium 241. You can probably guess where it came from (less than $10 from a hardware store).

[clony101]

@thecaster yes for this americum 241 will work and if u dont know where to get it its from a smoke detector

[yellowmetalcyborg]

@thecaster Or you can just get it from an old smoke detector.