Optimizing Particle Visualization in the Classroom: Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Cloud Chambers and Their Use with a Cathode Ray Tube

• Jorge Pozuelo-Muñoz ^[1] ; Lidia Ranz ^[2] ; Eva Terrado Sieso ^[1] ; Esther Cascarosa Salillas ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Zaragoza

     Universidad de Zaragoza

     Zaragoza, España

     
  2. [2] Instituto Clara Campoamor, Zaragoza, Spain
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 63, Nº. 9, 2025, págs. 745-748
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The cloud chamber is a relatively simple and highly effective instrument for particle detection widely used in particle physics experiments in the 20th century. It can be constructed with simple materials, and therefore, cloud chambers are increasingly being incorporated into high school and early university classrooms for their educational potential.1 However, our experience has shown that it is not easy to construct a cloud chamber that allows clear visualization of particle tracks. The particles that are usually observed are either from ambient radiation2,3 or radioactive samples.4,5 Both cases are very enriching, but there is no control over the particles interacting in the case of natural radiation, and on the other hand, artificial radiation sources pose logistical problems. In this work, we experimented with a more accessible source, the cathode ray tube. This device was present in household televisions until a few years ago and is still present in most laboratories. Thus, the objective of this article has been to construct several cloud chambers, analyzing the temperature gradient as a variable for visualizing ambient radiation particles. Finally, experiments were conducted using the cathode ray tube as a particle source. This entire process has allowed us to identify specific conditions for optimal observation of natural radiation particles.