Cloud Chamber Lab Report

Ziyi Lin
March 16, 2014
1 Introduction
When a high velocity particle collide with another particle, it scatters into smaller,
subatomic particles such as pions and muons. One conrmation of the existence of
these subatomic particles is aurora when subatomic particles pass through the atmo-
sphere, they strip away electrons from the particles on their path, temporarily ionizing
them and cause them to attract nearby particles; the gas particles gather and form vapor,
refracting light and produces the beautiful colored strips on the sky. To demonstrate a
similar effect in a laboratory environment, we create a closure full of gas particles, and
observe its behavior as subatomic particles pass through it.
2 Methodology
We will rst create a boxful of gas molecules, then drastically decrease the temperature
in order to create a more visible vapor. To simplify the process, we use a highly volatile
liquidalcoholto produce gas molecules, dry ice to modify the temperature, and a
piece of aluminum plate to quickly transfer heat out of the container. First, we soak a
piece of sponge with alcohol and secure it on the bottom of a transparent plastic box,
covering it with the aluminum plate and wait for the alcohol to vaporize. Then ip the
box upside down and place it onto a layer of dry ice, then blast a strong beam of light
through the container and observe the effect.
3 Result
The alcohol vapor form lines of dense vapor at a rate of about three per ten seconds.
Three patterns were observed: a straight line, a Y-shaped line, and a zigzagging line.
4 Discussion
1