Definition

Noun: A scientific instrument used to make the paths of charged subatomic particles visible. It contains a supersaturated vapor; when a high-energy particle passes through, it ionizes molecules along its trajectory, causing tiny droplets to condense on these ions and form a visible track.

Usage

The term "Wilson cloud chamber" is used specifically to refer to this type of particle detector in physics and scientific history. * The invention of the Wilson cloud chamber was a major breakthrough for early particle physics. * Researchers observed the tracks of alpha particles in the Wilson cloud chamber.

Advanced Usage

• "Cloud chamber": Often used as a shortened, more common form of "Wilson cloud chamber."
  • The simple cloud chamber experiment can be demonstrated in some classrooms.

Variants and Related Words

• Cloud chamber (n): The standard abbreviated term for a Wilson cloud chamber.
• Diffusion cloud chamber (n): A later, improved type of cloud chamber.
• Bubble chamber (n): A subsequent particle detector that uses a superheated liquid instead of a vapor.

Synonyms

• Particle detector: A general term for any device that observes and measures subatomic particles.
• Track chamber: A category of particle detectors that make visible tracks.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Condensation trail: The visible line of droplets, analogous to the vapor trail left by an aircraft.
• C.T.R. Wilson: Refers to Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, the Scottish physicist who invented the device and won the Nobel Prize for it. The chamber is named after him.
• Supersaturation: The critical state of the vapor inside the chamber necessary for the effect to work.

Noun

1. apparatus that detects the path of high-energy particles passing through a supersaturated vapor; each particle ionizes molecules along its path and small droplets condense on them to produce a visible track