Cloud Chamber Workshop

Witness beautiful trails made by cosmic particles that are constantly passing through us as they hurtle across our world.
Make your own mini cloud chamber from simple materials and see a larger cloud chamber in action.
The cloud chamber gives us a glimpse into the invisible world of particles produced in the radioactive decay of naturally occurring elements and those generated when cosmic rays strike the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Using a sealed plastic container, some pure alcohol and dry ice you will create a super-saturated environment where the invisible charged particles ionize the vapour in its path triggering a condensation process in the ‘cloud’. Different particles leave different tracks enabling you to identify which type of particle you have spotted making its journey through the universe.
We will discuss how a cloud chamber works and think about other particles such as dark matter that scientists are unable to detect at present.