The cloud chamber, developed by C.T.R. Wilson, became an important instrument for studying the tracks of speeding particles and radiation.
While hiking in Scotland, C.T.R. Wilson was fascinated by the light phenomena that sometimes occurred in clouds and fog. To study these more closely, he tried to create artificial fog in a laboratory environment. This was the beginning of Wilson’s cloud chamber. However, instead of providing a tool for the study of weather and light phenomena, the chamber was primarily used to investigate the components of matter. Particles passing through the fog chamber leave visible tracks when they knock out electrons from the atoms they pass.
This cloud chamber is a replica of Wilson’s early model.
The replica of the cloud chamber was acquired by the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
