The representative., 1900-11-08

she produced q substance with some Of
the properties Of barium, which. after
being heated. had the power Of emitting
visible rays of light This Is the sub
stance which she has named "radium."
and which promises to revolutionize
the system Of house lighting.
OF REMARKABLE STRENGTH.
After she had obtained the long
sought-for substance, Nine. Currie set
herself about measuring its power. and
found that there was no need for the fine
instruments which she had prepared for
this purpose, as the light was strong
enough to be measured by ordinary
methods. A negative OF ordinary den
sity was placed in frame in front of
fast Photographic plate. She found, after
repeated trials, that she was able to OBJ
sain strong impression in about Is
minutes-the slide produced was perfect
just as good as could be obtained by
daylight. A duplication Of the plate
showed that another could be produced
in exactly the same time, which demon
strated that the power Of the light was
unchanged. At the end Of two weeks,
during which time the precious substance
had been subjected to all sorts of condi-
tions still another test was made, with
the same results. thus proving the stabil-
ity of the power OF the new light. The
first piece Of radium being produced,
Nine. Currie argued that some accident
might have been responsible for it, in
stead of scientific manipulation, but in
vestigation proved conclusively that the
results were sound-that radium could
be produced at will Tests were then
made to show the exact nature of the
material. Pieces were dropped into gun
powder, and while glow spread through
the infammable material, no explosion
took place. There was no heat and no
hre-merely light. Everything was tried
that was at all likely to start combus-
ton, but all failed.
BOILING WATER DESTROYS IT.
The only thing that would destroy the
luminosity OF radium was boiling water,
In which 1t must be kept for an hour.
On taking 1t from the water 1t resembles
green quartE-cold and dead. On heat
Ing 1t again. however. to the point Of in
candescence, 1t regained its luminosity
with the same power as before. 1t was
then that several pieces of radium were
manufactured and sent to scientists
throughout the world, and this is how
Prof. Langley came to receive the queer
little thing done up in leaden box.
Recently Prof. Bach, of Berlin, a no.
ted scientist, has made tests of the light
with view Of establishing its claims
to permanency, and was unable to dis
cover any waste of material whatever.
He gave it as his opinion that it would
require the lapse of 100000 years or
more to destroy the luminosity OF a piece
OF this radium no bigger than a quarter
OF an inch square. When 1t came to ex-
planning the reason of the lights exist
ence. however, he remained dumb.
even as the discovery stands today it
is one of the most useful on record, as
small pieces may be used to illuminate
dwellings, public buildings and theaters,
with the absolute certainty that there
would result no flame from their ex-
tinguishment, as sometimes happens
from the use of ordinary means of light
ing, and that the expense of maintaining
them would be absolutely nothing.
In the present stage of DEVELOPMENT
there are many uses for this magic sub
stance. yet without doubt it has been left
to talented member of the fair sex.
whose work along this line exceeds all
Others to benefit the world by one of the
greatest discoveries of the age.