Teaching Material - Cloud Chamber

["Dwaine Brown (Aiken Office)" <BBRI623@barms036.b-r.com>]

Glass container, preferably a laboratory beaker 500 ml is adequate
The blotter material is simply to provide a dark background to show the white 
tracks better
Denatured alcohol from the hardware store (isopropyl is not volatile enough)
methyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol if available, but denatured works
Cardboard should be rigid, and not corrugated
Iron temperature for cotton
Time for saturation of the cardboard varies with the density of the 
cardboard, do not have the alcohol dripping from the underside of the 
cardboard, but visible wetting.

Enjoy!

  Dwaine Brown
  Brown and Root Environmental
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<radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu> Date: Fri, 11 Oct 96 13:39:34 -0500
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From: CHRIS KUECHLE 937-5276 <KUECHLE.CHRIS@a1.abbott.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Teaching Material - Cloud Chamber
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X-Comment:  Radiation Safety Distribution List 
Would the individual who provided the instructions for a simple cloud chamber 
please provide additional detail?  There's probably a number of elementary 
school teachers out there willing to try this, but they lack the time and 
resources needed to experiment in order to optimize the results.

Specifically -

Round clear container - plastic? glass? Ball or Mason jar?  Something bigger?
Cardboard Cover - shirt cardboard?  corrugate?
Denatured alcohol - what concentration?  where can it be purchased?
  Can the isopropyl alcohol availble from Walgreens be substituted?
  How long does it take alcohol to soak into the cardboard cover?
Clothing iron - suggested temperature setting?  (Trying to avoid burning
  cardboard, plastic meltdowns or potential "flaming apparati" problems, as
  the presence of said disasters in a classroom environment is sure to
  (1) discourage future experiments in nuclear science, and (2) set legions of
  bright young minds firmly on the road towards their MBA's ...)
Radiation Source - placed inside the container on the blotter material.  
  Does the blotter need to be wetted with the alcohol?

Any other thoughts or ideas?