Plutonium in cloud chamber - GIF

**Altair** · Oct 19, 2022, 10:27 AM

Plutonium in cloud chamber.

Previously:

Uranium in cloud chamber - GIF
Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab toy lab set - photo
Strontium atom in an ion trap - photo
1918 radioactive energy drink - photo
Nuclear waste cask being transported - GIF

**hemmjo** · Oct 20, 2022, 04:53 AM

I am not sure what I am looking at here. Is that some liquid with something bubbling up through it? I realize this is a "don't try this at home" kind of thing, but I am curious what is actually happening.

I had to do some more exploring. Apparently you CAN do this at home. Some of the comments in the linked article are interesting reading.

But I am still not sure exactly what it happening...

**piper184** · Oct 20, 2022, 08:03 AM

As I understand it, the cloud chamber is full of super saturated gas and ionizing particles passing though it cause condensation of that gas into the visible traces that you see. Then the trace disappears as the condensed vapor re-evaporates. Kind of like steam coming out of the kettle on the stove.

The different trace patterns are caused by different particles. The short ones are most likely alpha particles and some of the thin fast moving ones are most likely electrons.

That is about all I can remember from chemistry class 40 some odd years ago. I'm sure it is much more complicated than that.