Wilson Cloud Chamber (1 Viewer)

[gnrlies]

Ok, there is a syllabus point which I am stuck on...

I cant find anything in any of the textbooks (excel and jacaranda) and the purplish hue website has nothing either (its possible that I missed it but i looked twice).

I Think it must of been added recently becuase it isn't in the front of the jacaranda book as a syllabus point. Anyway.. The syllabus point is:

"Perform a first hand investigation or gather secondary information to observe radiation emmited from a nucleus using Wilson Cloud Chamber or similar detection devices"

If anyone has any information on it, or just like a few dot points as to what this syllabus point is refering to and the main concepts involved.

Thanks

 

[inasero]

ahha i know what this is....cos its my namesake lol...haha nar jkjk
anyways the syllabus requires students to describe one way in which emitted radiation may be observed in the laboratory...other apparatus include photographic film, geiger-muller counters and scintillation cameras...although i recommend you discuss the photographic film beause conceptuaklly it is the easiest...

anyhows for the sake of completeness, the cloud chamber is a vessel that contains alcohol vapour. Radiation passes through this vapur and ionises it, so that the alcohol condenses leaving a visible trail. obviously the more ionising the radiation the denser the tracks will be, so this is also a useful tool for detecting the different types of radiation present...

NB: alpha particles have the greatest ionising ability and least penetrating ability~ vice versa for gamma rays

 

[gnrlies]

ok thanks a lot!

 

[Akira_Tikira]

Your best method is using a emission tube and observing the light give off it using a spectroscope.

Your teacher will do that practical with you so don't worry...

 

[underthesun]

cloud chamber is in the conquering chemistry book. Whether it is a wilson cloud chamber is another question, but ill just help you by typing a bit :

This is an instrument which contains a supersaturated vapour of water or alcohol. When radiation passes through it, it ionises some of the air; the ions formed act as nuclei upon which droplets of liquid form. In this way the path of the radiation is made visible. Alpha particles form straight dense tracks; beta particles form less dense zig zag tracks while gamma rays generate even fainter tracks.

 

[pigs_can_fly]

apparently its a bitch to set up cos you gotta cool it down with dry ice, so our teacher just said to do secondary research
jump onto google, and you should find plenty of sites taking you through the experiment, with photos and stuff

 

[Saintly Devil]

Originally posted by inasero
anyways the syllabus requires students to describe one way in which emitted radiation may be observed in the laboratory

"Perform a first hand investigation or gather secondary information to observe radiation emmited from a nucleus using Wilson Cloud Chamber or similar detection devices"

Hmm....from what I can see from the dot point, it only requires you to observe the radiation emitted - not describe the way in which it was transmitted or to describe the way in which it was observed.

So really, if you know what emitted radiation looks like, that's all you need!