Cosmic Ray Spark Chamber

In the 1960's and '70s, spark chambers were commonly used as detectors in particle physics experiments. They served as visual detectors with moderate spatial resolution (≈ ±0.5 mm) and time resolution (≈ ±0.5 μs). Higher spatial and temporal resolution detectors, such as drift chambers and silicon detectors, have since replaced these. However, the spark chamber is still well suited for lecture demonstration — the detection of cosmic rays (usually muons) can easily be made visible to a large audience. About 80% of the cosmic ray flux at sea level is composed of muons, with electrons and protons making up the remainder.

For more details on our setup see http://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k16940&pa...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• spark chamber
• muon detector

[Rpahut1]

Where do I get one?

[lexichronicle2]

They're nice to watch, when you realise what you're seeing and that it's happening around you all the time, but you can't normally see it.

I think the one I saw was at the Science Museum in London. It's on the list of things to build.