Re:Building a Cloud Chamber (Cosmic Ray Detector)
by nkurz on Sunday July 27, 2014 @05:39PM
(#8094071)
I came across this article while researching whether Coleman lantern mantles are still radioactive. Putting a mantle close to this detector would be one way to find out. Traditionally, lantern mantles were made with Thorium to produce a brighter and whiter light.
It turns out that most current mantles (including those made by Coleman) have switched in the 1990's to using non-radioactive Ytterbium, although some claim that that the older Thorium mantles are both safe and more effective: http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/post/peerless-mantles-...
If you are excited by this but don't have a good source of dry ice (and are electronically inclined) there is an interesting alternative design that uses Peltier coolers and a PC power supply instead: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Cloud-Chamber-using-P...
It turns out that most current mantles (including those made by Coleman) have switched in the 1990's to using non-radioactive Ytterbium, although some claim that that the older Thorium mantles are both safe and more effective: http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/post/peerless-mantles-...
If you are excited by this but don't have a good source of dry ice (and are electronically inclined) there is an interesting alternative design that uses Peltier coolers and a PC power supply instead: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Cloud-Chamber-using-P...