Aitken Dust Counter

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Aitken Dust Counter

An instrument developed by John Aitken for determining the dust content of the atmosphere. In operation, a sample of air is mixed, in an expandable chamber, with a larger volume of dust-free air containing water vapor. Upon a sudden expansion, the chamber cools adiabatically below its dewpoint, and the droplets form with the dust particles as nuclei (Aitken nuclei). A portion of these droplets settle on a ruled plate in the instrument and are counted with the aid of a microscope. Also called Aitken nucleus counter . [[/A>|/A> ]]

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use