Accession No
4459
Brief Description
cloud chamber (aka ray-track apparatus), 'schools-type' (Shimizu design), by Cambridge Instrument Company, English, 1930
Origin
England; Cambridge
Maker
Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd. [maker] Takeo Shimizu [designer]
Class
physics
Earliest Date
1930
Latest Date
1930
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, iron); glass; plastic
Dimensions
length 250mm; breadth 195mm; height 270mm
Special Collection
Cambridge Instrument Company Collection
Provenance
Donated by the Cambridge Instrument Collection.
Inscription
‘CAMBRIDGE
INSTRUMENT CO. LTD.
London & Cambridge
C142258’ (plaque on base)
Description Notes
Cloud chamber (aka ray-track apparatus), ‘schools-type’ (Shimizu design), by the Cambridge Instrument Company, English, 1927.
Cast iron base with one brass terminal, a cast cylinder with wheel and handle which operates piston inside cylinder. On top of cylinder is a glass chamber surmounted with an iron ring and held by brass fittings. Electric lamp with bulb on a standard, complete with attached lead and plug.
References
Allison Ksiazkiewicz; 'Cloud Studies'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/meteorology/cloud-studies
Events
Description
This cloud chamber, sold by the Cambridge Instruments Company as a ‘ray-track apparatus’, enables the tracks of ionising particles to be seen. The CIC were the first company to mass-produce this type of instrument in 1913, copying the original design of C. T. R. Wilson, who developed it whilst working in the Cavendish Laboratory. This simplified later model is based upon improvements to the design made by Takeo Shimizu during his work at the Cavendish Laboratory. It was advertised as suitable for use in “schools, colleges, and technical institutions”.
23/10/2014
Created by: Joshua Nall on 23/10/2014
FM:44301
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