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DateHoursDescription
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2/16/20132Went to the science museum in LA and looked at cloud chamber kits. Took notes on what is in them, what I could improve, etc.
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2/21/20133I found out today through my research that there are two types of cloud chambers-one that detects comsic rays, which I built before using a Tupperware container and a paper plate, and one that detects alpha and beta particles and requires a piece of radioactive material. I have decided to build this latter one. Researched safe radioactive sources online-found ones that were too expensive for me to order. Will be looking for others.
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3/1/20132Went to visit Caltech-Sean Carroll taught me to disassemble a smoke detector to obtain the very tiny Americium-241 button inside. Only works in an ionizing smoke detector.
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4/15/20135Went shopping for materials. Found magnets and a possible chamber, but they are both plastic and quite shallow. I would rather use glass, as it will be strong enough to stop the radioactive source from harming anyone. (Glass can stop alpha particles, which is what the source emits.) Today I also researched past lab procedures that people have done and posted on the internet so I can compare them and use the best one for my test.
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4/16/20132Went shopping for materials again. Found lantern mantles, but I cannot be sure they actually contain the radioactive Thorium that is necessary for the project to work as I do not have a Geiger counter.
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4/17/20131Turns out that Ms. Pittman has a Geiger counter and also has Fiestaware, which contains uranium. You can order this online but it is expensive and I don't think it will get here in time, so I will use hers. However I also want to do an additional test with the americium. I won't buy the lantern mantles since they are expensive and I do not know if they are radioactive or not.
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4/20/20131I have found the plan online I will use when testing my cloud chamber-it is here at http://www.bizarrelabs.com/cloud.htm.
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4/22/20132Today I went shopping again for materials. At the Cal Poly Bookstore I found a kill jar, which is the right depth and circumference and has glass that is for dealing with toxic materials-this is the safest shield against radioactivity that I have found as of yet. At Cal Poly, I also bought a glue that is not alcohol soluable. Also, I have discovered that I have very pure isopropyl alcohol in my home.
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4/23/20137I bought dry ice today and built the actual chamber. First I had to measure the diameter and radius of the base of the jar, and then I used those measurements to mark with a compass on a sponge. I cut a "layer" of the sponge and glued it to the base of the jar. This will absorb the alcohol which will later supersaturate the jar. Next, I had to find a new lid, as the lid the jar came with had sort of a "lid within a lid" that I could not deattach. I picked a lid from a peanut butter jar and used an Exacto knife to carve out the plastic seal so that I was sure the chamber would be airtight. I then measured the diameter and radius of the inside of the lid and used a compass to cut out a piece of black cloth which I then glued to the inside of the lid. I washed the jar out then with a mixture of the rubbing alcohol and water so it would be sterile for when I test the chamber tomorrow.
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4/24/201310This was the big day. Ms. Pittman brought her Fiestaware and a radioactive watch. I found the Fiestaware and the watch were too big to fit into the cloud chamber so I used some of the packing peanuts from the Fiestaware box that had been irradiated. I checked their radiation levels with a Gieger counter. I followed the procedure on the BizzareLabs website and after around thirty minutes I saw faint particle tracks appear and a mist settle on the bottom of the chamber against the black cloth. I had to leave and the tracks were very faint so I didn't try the magnets. When I got home, I disassembled my old, broken smoke detector. This took almost two hours, as it was very cumbersome wearing the heavy gloves and trying to break through the different chambers. Once I got through the chambers I again followed the BizzareLabs procedure and after about an hour particle tracks started showing up. They were stronger than the tracks with the Fiestaware and so I tried the magnets. The alpha particles were repelled but the beta particles were attracted. I flipped the magnent and the opposite became true.
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