Análise da presença de radiações ionizantes em materiais diários utilizando câmara de nuvens

Abstract

The cloud chamber is a particle detector that enables the direct visualization, with the naked eye, of the tracks left by ionizing radiation. The objective of this work was the optimization of a thermoelectric cloud chamber prototype already described in the literature, aiming to improve its robustness, safety, and thermal efficiency, for its subsequent application in the qualitative analysis of radioactivity in everyday materials. A visual analysis was carried out on several sources, such as a 232Th electrode, an old alarm clock hand containing 226Ra, uranium glass, and 222Rn. The chamber demonstrated a high capacity to distinguish the visual signatures of α particles (short and dense tracks) and β particles (long and erratic tracks), in addition to background radiation. The analysis allowed the visual demonstration of complex physical concepts, such as secular equilibrium and radioactive decay. Its optimization proved effective for teaching and research in the field of nuclear physics