Compare the Editions
essential
$249.90
Everything you need to see the tracks.
pre-order- Ready in 5 minutes
- Cools to −35 °C
- Automatic temperature control
- High-voltage clearing field
- Powered by USB-C
PLUS
$299.90
Adds lighting, sound, and smart features.
pre-order- Ready in 5 minutes
- Cools to −35 °C
- Automatic temperature control
- High-voltage clearing field
- Powered by USB-C
- Real-time temperature monitoring
- Standby mode
- Adjustable backlight color
- Startup sequence
- Ambient soundtrack
features
A fully integrated, complete cloud chamber setup. Just add isopropyl alcohol and switch it on, and the universe handles the rest.
Unique features set Inq Factory’s version apart from other cloud chambers. They include a high-voltage field that continually sweeps leftover ions to make new tracks show up cleanly and more visibly, finely tuned power output for optimized vapor cooling, and an automatic startup sequence that checks all systems on every use.
The Plus edition adds computer connectivity for customizable sound and light effects.
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Where we are now
Dozens of prototypes are built and running, showing tracks from cosmic rays and from a piece of uranium ore. Now we’re getting them ready for production and working on certification to ship beyond the US.
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In the box
Everything you need to start seeing particle tracks: the Cloud Chamber itself with its glass dome, a 100 W USB-C PD power supply and cable, and a quick-start and safety card. You also get an illustrated magazine on the science and history of what you’re watching, plus extended science activities for when you want to go further. The only thing you’ll need to add is isopropyl alcohol.
Getting started
Operation is incredibly simple. No guesswork. No manual adjustment.
1. Add a radioactive source
You’ll see tracks from background radiation and cosmic rays without one, but a source adds a lot more action. A small piece of uranium ore, an old thorium lantern mantle or a thoriated welding rod all work well. Handle it with gloves or tweezers.
1. Add alcohol
Fill the reservoir with isopropyl alcohol at 90% or higher concentration, ideally 99%. You can find it at almost any drugstore or grocery store. Wipe down the cooling plate with a drop of alcohol.
1. Add alcohol
Fill the reservoir with isopropyl alcohol at 90% or higher concentration, ideally 99%. You can find it at almost any drugstore or grocery store. Wipe down the cooling plate with a drop of alcohol.
3. Seal the chamber
Put the glass dome on to seal the chamber and keep the vapor inside.
2. Add radiation source (optional)
If you have a radiation source — a small piece of uranium ore or anything else — place it on the cooling plate. If you don’t, you’ll still be able to see cosmic rays!
2. Add radiation source (optional)
If you have a radiation source — a small piece of uranium ore or anything else — place it on the cooling plate. If you don’t, you’ll still be able to see cosmic rays!
3. Press start
The chamber cools itself to −35 °C and tunes itself to your room.
4. Watch
In about five minutes, tracks appear. Cosmic rays first — then the tracks caused by particles coming from a radiation source.
What will I see?
Cloud chambers use supersaturated vapor to enable you to see the tracks of elementary particles in real time.
You’ll be able to see particle tracks from radioactive sources and cosmic rays.
You may see:
- Alpha particles (𝛂). Short, thick, bright tracks bursting out of the sample.
- Beta particles (𝜷). Long, wispy, wandering trails.
- Gamma rays (𝜸). Invisible themselves, but they knock loose electrons that leave random curly tracks.
- The rare ones. With patience, you can catch protons (p), muon (𝝁) decays, and even signs of antimatter (e+).
Watch it work
Made with Kyle Hill
Brought to you in partnership with award-winning science writer, educator, and YouTuber Kyle Hill. This cloud chamber is part of Kyle’s mission to demystify the world of nuclear science by making the invisible world of radioactive and elementary particles visible, and helping people everywhere see some of the fundamental building blocks of the universe right on their desks.
A multiple Nobel Prize-winning invention
“The most original and wonderful instrument in scientific history”
— Ernest Rutherford
Originally invented in 1911 by Scottish physicist Charles T.R. Wilson, the cloud chamber was the first particle detector capable of letting people actually see the trails of ionizing radiation in real time. Wilson won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for the creation of the cloud chamber.
In 1936, a cloud chamber was also responsible for Carl Anderson’s Nobel Prize in Physics. While studying cosmic rays in his chamber, Anderson discovered the positron — the first known particle of antimatter.
In 1948, Patrick Blackett also won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his refinements of the cloud chamber and for his use of it in revolutionary investigations of cosmic rays and nuclear radiation.
Cloud chambers were also responsible for the discoveries of the muon and kaon.
Not in the United States?
For now, the Cloud Chamber pre-orders are only open in the US. We’re working on bringing it to more countries. Leave us your email and we’ll let you know as soon as we can ship it outside the US.
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The road to your desk
This is the start of the journey. Dates are our current estimates, and we’ll post updates on this page as they firm up.
Coming late 2027
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October 2026
Working prototypes
After a year of R&D, dozens of prototypes are built and tested.
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November 2026
Pre-orders open
Pre-orders open in the US alongside Kyle’s video, with a wish list for everyone else.
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November 2026
Certification
Testing decides which countries we can ship to beyond the US. We’re also working on radioactive sources.
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December 2026
International pre-orders
We decide which countries come next, based on certification and the wish list sign-ups.
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November 2026 – March 2027
Engineering for production
We turn the prototype into a design that can be built in volume.
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April 2027
Start of production
About five months to build the first production run.
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Late 2027
Delivery
Chambers ship to everyone who pre-ordered.
UPDATES
OCTOBER 2026
In October, our electrical engineer John brought the latest Cloud Chamber prototypes to Kyle Hill’s studio, where we tested and filmed them in action.
These units are the result of months of engineering work, with every feature and refinement from our development so far built in and carefully tuned.
The Cloud Chambers cool electrically, with no dry ice, and show real radiation tracks within minutes of being switched on.
NOVEMBER 2026
Pre-orders launched. More updates coming.