Cloud Chamber

[Michael McCarty <MCCARTYMJ@state.mi.us>]

Radsafers

The discussion of cloud chambers prompted me to dig into my library.  I offer
a reference that includes several designs for cloud chambers and other
interesting devices such as a Van de Graaff generator used as a power
supply for an electron accelerator and an x-ray machine built from common
materials.  The cloud chamber designs range from very simple (i.e. no moving
parts) to more complex, including some that apply an electric field to clear the
chamber or a magnetic field to observe the curved paths of charged
particles.

The reference is a book entitled " The Scientific American Book of Projects
for the Amateur Scientist" by C.L. Stong, published 1960 by Simon and
Schuster.  ISBN 0-671-20833-0 or ISBN 0-671-20747-4 for paperback,
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 60-14286.

The book is a collection of the Amateur Scientist columns from Scientific
American Magazine from the years 1952 through 1960.  That is another
possible way to access the information.  Unfortunately, the book doesn't give
the original dates of publication for each project.

Mike McCarty
mccartymj@state.mi.us

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Drinking Water and Radiological Protection Division
Radiological Protection Section
Nuclear Facilities Unit