Track Detectors
.. C. Spark Chamber In a spark chamber, incoming high-energy particles ionize the air or a gas between plates or wire grids that are kept alternately positively and negatively charged. Sparks jump along the paths of ionization and can be photographed to show particle tracks. In some spark-chamber installations, information on particle tracks is fed directly into electronic computer circuits without the necessity of photography. A spark chamber can be operated quickly and selectively. The instrument can be set to record particle tracks only when a particle of the type that the researchers want to study is produced in a nuclear reaction. This advantage is important in studies of the rarer particles; spark-chamber pictures, however, lack the resolution and fine detail of bubble-chamber pictures. D. Scintillation Counter The scintillation counter functions by the ionization produced by charged particles moving at high speed within certain transparent solids and liquids, known as scintillat...