Wilson Cloud Chamber: Radiation Detection & Build Tips

[gijsbert2002]

Hello everyone,

in the 1910's Wilson build the very first cloud chamber based on watervapour and adiabatic decompression. With this device you can see radiation from radioactive materials and cosmic rays.

For a description see:
http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/cloudchamber/cloudchamber1_1.htm

I was wondering how long it would take for a device like this to lose it's watervapour? Would it be a question of milliseconds, seconds, minutes or hours?

Anybody who tried building this historical device?

Greetings Gijs.

 

[Bass Boy]

What about the weird MIMIC returns from some of th latest hurricanes?

look at the bright red return on the lower left of the picture.

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/marti/2005_TWENTY-FOUR/webManager/basicGifDisplay48.html

After looking at this linke refer to the other links of Wilma and Katrina. They both have returns simmular to this one. What the heck is it??

 

[gijsbert2002]

I don't understand what you mean with this post. Do you mean that hurricanes can hold water really long?
That is a very different mechanism, they actually suck up water, just like cars and trees and stuff. I'm more interested in how long still air can hold enough water to see cosmic rays, in a practical sense.