system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What exactly happens between the alpha particles and the air to cause clouds to form in a cloud chamber?

I understand the basic premise of a cloud chamber - the air is supersaturated, so even the tiny alpha particles are enough to cause the clouds to form. But how exactly are the alpha particles interacting with the air? If they are travelling in straight lines, it makes it seem like they just passing through without interacting with anything.

Any clarification or deeper understanding of this neat phenomena will be greatly appreciated! :)
gpt
The alpha particles cause ionization in the gas. Ionized particles act as nucleation points for droplets of liquid to condense out of the supersaturated gas phase.

What you're seeing a bunch of small droplets, forming something similar to a cloud in the sky.

This makes the trail of ionization caused by the alpha particle visible to the naked eye.