Wilson later became interested in meteorology, and in 1893 he began to study clouds and their properties. He worked at the observatory on Ben Nevis mountain to observe cloud formation. He then tried to replicate this effect at smaller scale in his laboratory in Cambridge, by causing moist air to expand in a sealed container. He then experimented with creating cloud trails in containers by ions and radiation. He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cloud chamber.