I borrowed some weakly radioactive
nickel from a mad
scientist
colleague. If as advertised it is a pure beta source then we
suppose only
electrons are coming out.
alpha particle: Helium nuclei
beta particle: electron or positron
gamma rays: high-energy photons
The literature suggests that really big fuzzy short tracks in cloud chambers are due to alpha particles. These are certainly present, occasional big fuzzy condensation tracks, but without more information the interpretation is up for grabs.
This is a null-result photo; nothing obvious happening. The nickel source is in the glass ampule at left and the four gold cubes are very strong (NIB) magnets. The magnets appear to be wet because they are; they're covered with liquid alcohol. I was curious to see if the magnets would produce corkscrew tracks... but I only saw one such event and it was so transient that I can't be sure of it. One possible corkscrew track doesn't count as a phenomenon yet. The page on introducing magnetic fields has more to say on this topic.
alpha particle: Helium nuclei
beta particle: electron or positron
gamma rays: high-energy photons
The literature suggests that really big fuzzy short tracks in cloud chambers are due to alpha particles. These are certainly present, occasional big fuzzy condensation tracks, but without more information the interpretation is up for grabs.
This is a null-result photo; nothing obvious happening. The nickel source is in the glass ampule at left and the four gold cubes are very strong (NIB) magnets. The magnets appear to be wet because they are; they're covered with liquid alcohol. I was curious to see if the magnets would produce corkscrew tracks... but I only saw one such event and it was so transient that I can't be sure of it. One possible corkscrew track doesn't count as a phenomenon yet. The page on introducing magnetic fields has more to say on this topic.
In contrast the next photo shows a positive result. The wispy shape above and to the left of the magnets is a condensation track--very typical--captured soon after it formed.
This is a zoom on the condensation path. The upper edge of the track has perhaps four distinct components. I wonder if the structure of this track is affected by the field from the magnets. (As mentioned, check out the Introducing B-Fields page for more remarks on this subject.) Everything below that upper edge is simply condensation that has fallen for a fraction of a second. This fallout band is fairly constant but it is interesting that perhaps there is less condensation after the track dips downward in the middle. Is the cause of this excursion also giving us less ionization?
