Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-12-27

thus correspond TO very much liner
state of subdivision than that OF Or
binary matter into Its molecules"
lie hen refers to their speed as being
enoruo JUS, and says: "The only veloc-
itv with which we can compare these
particles Is the velocity Of light, which
ia about 1856, 900 miles per second" And
these particles, be 1t remembered, are
LIGHT. He then adds: "Thus In the
tubeynear the cathode we have bodies
smaller than atoms moving with pro.
d,uious yeloclties, a state of things which
recalls Newton's corpuscular theory OF
light. according to which light consists OF
very small particles (corpuscles) moving
at the rate of 10000 miles per second.
Although this theory of light has since
been abandoned, Newton's conception is
realized in the cathode rays; and l have
ventured to call the small particles cor
puscles.r One must be exceedingly stu
pid or ignorant, or both, who In reading
this article has not by this time perceiv-
ed thst Mr.. Thomson has abandoned the
undulotory theories and kno,cs that New
tons oorpuscular theory of light is cor
rect. This is what has been demonstrate
ed bv the experiments. Certainly he
has abandoned the undulatory theory of
light. and it won't take him long to
abandon the others, if he has not
already
/ Prof. Thomson now calls attention to
the fact that matter in the corpuscular
state Is not confined to the cathode rays
{ in an exhausted tube, for he says when
metal wire is made red hot in good
vacuum. matter in this state is given off.
He also says that 1t is given of when the
metal. instead of being made red hot, is
exposed to a bright light. He then refers
to the fact that in these cases we get
negative electricity in the gas around the
WIRE and in fact that whenever we have
negative electricity in gas at very low
pressure, where there is very little matter
in the ordinary state for it to stick to, we
find the electricity is carried by the cor
puscules. He shows that when the pres
sure OF the gas is not low, that is, when
the air PARTICLES have not been thoroughly
exhausted, that the corpuscles adhere to
the molecules of gas. And therefore, he
says. "if we wish to get matter in this
corpuscular state We must remove as
much of he gas as possible; and that
then we ind that the negative electricity
is Away carried by these corpuscles.
With positive electricity this is different,
for this is always found on matter in the
ordinary state, while negative electricity
is found or corpuscles."
Prof. Thomson adds that this difference
between tn two electricities Is just that
which ought to exist on the onefluid
theory of lectrcity due to Benjamin
Franklin. hat according to that theory
electricity was supposed to be a fluid !;
that when natter in the ordinary state
cont aimed certain quantity of this fluid,
1t was said to be saturated, and not
electrified, hat if some Of the fluid left
it so that it contained less than the nor
NAL quanti'y. It was charged with cleo
tricity Of one sign; that if some fluid
came into it so that it contained more
than the normal quantity, it was charged
with electricity of the oppostei sign.
And h then lys;
Snow if ve suppose that the electric
fluid consists { collection Of our cor
puscles the suits of our experiments
will be exactly expressed by Franklin's
one-hud theory, and it would thus seem
that there is some warrant for the some
what discredited electric fluid"
"If the material of the cathode rays
forms negative Electricity, it is evident
that it must be very widely spread; we
have seen that it occurs free near white
hot metals and metals exposed to the
light. We may suppose that ii forms a
part of all kinds of matter in the normal
state, and that the heat and light which
have to be applied to metals are only re-
quired to get the corpusces out of the
metal, and that In the metal itself, even
under normal conditions, there are cor
puscles moving freely about, and able to
:, carry heat as well as electricity from one
: part Of the metal to the other
=, Prof. Thomson then shows that there
are some substances which constantly
emit cathode rays without the aid of heat
. or light. He specially mentions uranium
and a new substance called radium OBJ
: talned from the mineral pitchblende.
J Radiun he says has been shown to emit
!, corpuscles at about two-thirds the vel
;, ocity Of light. And he adds:
b "Since corpu:cles are emitted by hot
a metals, it seems not improbable that that
very hot body, the sun, may be emitting
. corpuscles, some of which would strike
g the earth, where, stopped by the earth's
= atmosphere, and detected by the earth's
= magnetic force, they would produce
n luminosity in the upper region of the
l. LII Al n