Cecil Frank Powell's research into cloud chambers and the detection of subatomic particles led to his development of photographic emulsion systems to detect and identify fast-moving particles, especially those found in cosmic rays. This enabled him to discover the pi-meson, a particle formed from nuclear reactions within cosmic rays. Powell was awarded the 1950 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in this area. He also was a member of the British Atomic Energy Project during World War II, though in his later years he became an advocate for nuclear disarmament.

Powell was born on November 5, 1903, at Tonbridge, Kent, England. His father, Frank Powell, was a gunsmith, and his mother, Elizabeth Caroline Bisacre, came from a family of skilled technicians. Powell developed an interest in science at an early age after becoming captivated by a chemistry book he saw in a store. Inspired by the book to conduct his...