bubble chamber

noun

, Physics.

1. an apparatus for determining the movements of charged particles, consisting of a chamber containing a superheated transparent liquid that, by boiling and producing bubbles in the path of an ionizing particle, indicates the path of the particle.

bubble chamber

noun

1. a device that enables the tracks of ionizing particles to be photographed as a row of bubbles in a superheated liquid. Immediately before the particles enter the chamber the pressure is reduced so that the ionized particles act as centres for small vapour bubbles

bubble chamber

/ bŭb′əl /

1. A device used to observe the paths of charged subatomic particles. A bubble chamber consists of a container filled with very dense fluid that is close to boiling. The moving particles create tracks of bubbles in the fluid that can be photographed and analyzed. Bubble chambers have been largely supplanted in laboratories by more sensitive particle detectors that do not rely on the human eye.
2. Compare cloud chamber

Word History and Origins

Origin of bubble chamber¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Scientists sent those beams into bubble chambers to watch what happened.

From Science News

This technique could capture millions of particle tracks per second, much more than bubble chambers could achieve.

From Science News

When charged particles pass through liquid in a bubble chamber, they leave tiny vapor bubbles, like iridescent orbs trailing a soap bubble wand.

From Science News