Evening star., 1901-09-14
Opaque Metals Radiating Light and
Not Consumed.
RECENT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
Substances That May Be Frag-
ments of a Planet.
A WORLD OF SPECULATION
pecial Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Ihere are mysterious Opaque metals that
radiate light all around them, contin-
ually. indefinitely, and yet are not con-
sumed. Some are self-luminous in the
dark. There are metals cold to the
touch that yet send out invisible rad-
ations that will burn you at a distance.
There are strange substances that cannot
be combined with any earthly matter, and
SO trenuous that the moment they are
brought to the surface of the earth their
flying particles dash away into space never
to return. The science of the hour stands
aghast at these new properties of matter.
But are they properties of matter-matter
as we know it on our earth? Are not these
extraordinary substances outsiders, stran-
gers from some far distant planet in which
matter possesses properties undreamed of
by men?
The discovery Of these substances and
their properties-s some of which have not
been known a month-began with Profess
Sor Henri BecquereIs experiments with the
metal called uranium. He had found that
1t gives out emanationS which he first
called "phosphorescent" Thirty years ago
M. Seguin the founder of Cosmos, pre-
sented to the various learned societies of
Paris a series of curious experiments, now
completely forgotten, tending to prove that
all the metalS-gold iron, copper, nickel,
silver-throw out in every direction from
their surfaces vapors that visible, yet
capable of producing chemical effects NJ.
Seguins theory and experiments had been
completely forgotten when the discovery
of M. Becquerel brought them for a mo-
ment into prominence again. Again, of
late years scientific men have been obliged
to recognize the fact that great number
OF different substances act mysteriouSly on
sensitive Photographic plates by a sort of
slow Vaporization of the same kind.
Analogous Properties.
When Professor Roentgen announced to
an astoniShed world that the electric rays
engendered in Crooks tube Ga glass tube
In which as nearly complete vacuum as
possible had been made had the quality of
penetrating opaque bodies, SO that the
skeleton of a living person, for example,
could be Photographed with their aid, Pro-
fessor Becquerel asked himself if, in spite
of it's apparent feebleness, the phosphores-
cent rays which he had found to emanate
from uranium might not possess analogous
properties. The phosphorescence Of this
metal in itself was something extraordi-
nary M. Becquerel's own first explanation
was like a kind of return to the old corpus
cular theory of the time of Newton, in which
light was constituted by minute particles
detaching themselves from the light-giying
body, theory that is still commonly ap-
pied to the sense of smell. Things have
not gone so far. however, that even this
violence to the most fundamental theories
or physics will not satisfactorily explain
them.
With the great-mindedness of a savant
Professor Becquerel made all his dscov-
cries public property, detailing in success
slVe communications to the Academy of
sciences the new facts as he found them
Soon the radiant energy of uranium was
far surpassed by that of two kindred sub
stances, found always more or less mixed
with each other and uranium-polonium
and radium-whose radiant proportions
were discovered and Investigated by that
admirable and unique young married
N Nr1rsn rl,n,,. II
wife work side by side in the laboratory
the wife yielding not an inch in hard work
and masterful reasoning. Their polonium
was found to be twenty times as active as
uranium, while their radium-so named
because of its immensely superior radiant
energy-ls now calculated to be ninety
times as active uranium.
NJ and Nine. Curie now hold a Corner
in this mysterious metal, radium. There is
not gramme-not four one-hundredths of
an ounce-of pure radium in the world
and OF this NJ and Nine, Curie hold more
than three-quarters. Certain French
wholesale chemists have quoted it-for
decorative purposes, evidently, to give
dramatic interest to their catalogues-at
10000 francs per kilo, but they could not
fill the order. Seen, as the Curies keep it
in sealed glass tubes-it is grayish metal,
broken into pieces. This is in the daylight.
Brought into dark room this grayish.
Opaque and cold metal glows with such in
tenSity that 1t is quite Self-luminous. The
little quantity that they possess gives light
enough to see to read a book by. There is
not the slightest doubt that when a lump
of radium as large, say, apple can
be brought together it will adequate teIy
light the table on which 1t stands, while
still larger quantity spread over fiat
surface will light up a room. 1t is eternal
light. The metal is not consumed. There
is nothing like combustion. 1t never
weakens.
Science Is Dumb.
The truth is that investigation has
brought these substances so far along the
way to affecting human beings brought in
contact with them that science has no OK
planation for the phenomena. When Pro-
fessor Becquerel announced "a complete
identity of effects between the X-rays and
his uranium radiations he did not dream
how far this identity of effects might go.
He began by enveloping a piece of the
metal in paper and then shutting 1t up in
a drawer in front of a Photographic plate.
The sensitive plate darkened. But the x
rays have the property of acting the
human skin. They cause disorders like
burns when concentrated during a certain
time on any point of the body. Indeed,
there have been cases in both France and
the United States in which physicians lave
been condemned or acquitted Of the charge
of having abused the influence of X-rays on
patients SHINING, of course, rather through
ignorance than carelessness. Again. it IS
known that the rays of the sun in high,
snowy attitudes disorganiZe the skin.
Alpine climbers return from their ascen-
sions with their faces burned, often cruelty.
That these are not ordinary sunburns. the
effect of heat, is shown by the medical use
of certain chemical rays of sunlight, nota-
bly, In the new cure of lupus. Now, the
radium of M. and Nine. Curic-although
cold metal-sends out skin-burning rays Of
this same X-rays and chemical sun-rays
action.
Were the metal not so dear 1t might be
used as an energetic local revulsive. 1t