Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (14.02.1869 — 15.11.1959) was an English physicist and a Fellow of the Royal Society (1900). He was born in Glencorse. He graduated from the University of Cambridge (1892). In 1900-34 he worked at the University of Cambridge (professor from 1925).
His work was in the field of molecular, atomic and nuclear physics. He discovered a method of condensing vapour under the action of various agents, showing (1897) that under certain conditions every charged ion becomes a centre for the condensation of water vapour, so that the presence of ions becomes visible to the eye. On this basis he invented in 1912 an instrument for observing and photographing the tracks of charged particles, the Wilson cloud chamber (Nobel Prize, 1927). He arrived (1900 — 01) at the idea that there exists ionising radiation able to penetrate thick layers of soil.
The D. Hughes (1911) and Copley (1935) Medals. The Royal Medal (1922).