The Structure
The stainless steel test sphere, a cloud chamber used to study static microbial aerosols, is a four-story high, 131-ton structure. Its 1-inch-thick (25 mm), carbon steel hull was designed to withstand the internal detonation of "hot" biological bombs without risk to outsiders. It was originally contained within a cubical brick building.
Its purpose was the study of infectious agent aerosols and testing of pathogen-filled munitions. The device was designed to allow exposure of animals and humans to carefully controlled numbers of organisms by an aerosol (inhalational) route. Live, tethered animals were inserted into the chamber along with BW bombs for exposure tests. Human volunteers breathed metered aerosols of Q fever or tularemia organisms through ports along the perimeter of the sphere.
Read more about this topic: One-Million-Liter Test Sphere
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