“Que raios?!”: a new LIP module at UC Exploratório
"Developed by LIP, the new module uses a spark chamber and a cloud chamber to reveal the tracks of subatomic particles"
UC Exploratório – Centro Ciência Viva de Coimbra has a new module developed by LIP . Called “Que raios?!”, it allows visitors to visualise the tracks of subatomic particles that would otherwise remain invisible.
Installed in the hall leading to the main exhibition area, the module works as a “two-in-one” installation: on one side, a spark chamber makes it possible to observe particles associated with cosmic rays; on the other, a cloud chamber reveals particles resulting from radioactive decay.
The spark chamber shows signals left by particles produced when cosmic rays, coming from beyond our planet, interact with the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of these particles reach the surface and pass through us continuously.
Inside the cloud chamber, a radioactive rock makes it possible to observe the emission of radiation. As particles pass through the supersaturated gas inside the chamber, they leave a visible trace, making their path perceptible.
The module was built at LIP and is now part of the UC Exploratório exhibition space, strengthening a long-standing collaboration between the two institutions. LIP has been associated with UC Exploratório from the very beginning, in a relationship that goes back around 30 years.
Photos: UC Exploratório