[Can detect: Alpha particles only]
- A spark-chamber detector is a particle detector, that is, a device used in particle physics for detecting electrically charged particles.
- Spark-chamber detectors consists of metal plates placed in a sealed box filled with gas (for example, helium, neon or a mixture of the two); as a particle travels through the detector, it will ionize the gas between the plates, and a trigger system is used to apply high voltage to the plates to create an electric field immediately after the particle went through the chamber, producing sparks on its exact trajectory.