The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-09
LIGHT WITHOUT HEAT.
HALLOCK DISCOVERS A NEW
FORM OF RADIANT ENERGY.

FORM OF RADIANT ENEHGh.
BY Certain Chemical Additions,
Hitherto Invisible Rays of Energy
Are Made LuminOus-LabOrator
Tests show That Barium Cyanide
Combined with Becquerel Rays
Makes Light-Theory Is That Sub
stances Absorb Light During the
Day and Emit Rays at Night.
Professor HaIIock Thinks the Dis
covery VIII shortly Have Practi-
cal AppIica tion in Everyday Life
New York, Feb. 2.-Prof. William
Hallock, of Columbia University, has
discovered a new kind of light which is
without heat. His discovery is the re-
suit of an experiment made with GER
tain chemical substances which have
long been known to radiate a myste-
rious energy the source of which
scientific men have not succeeded in
tracing. This form of energy, well
known under the name of Becquerel
rays, after the French scientist who
discovered it, has always manifested
its presence in much the same manner
as ordinary light except in the one inn
portant feature of not being visible.
For instance, photographs could be
made with the rays, if sensitive plates
were left exposed to their influence in
dark rooms, but no one had been able
heretofore 10 see the rays. Prof. Hal
lock hit upon plan for rendering
them visible and as they emanate from
thousands of substances, the discovery
is important. Again, while the expert
ment was strictly laboratory test and
was therefore conducted on a small
scale, the principle of procedure has
been established and, as Prof. Hallock
says, it only remains for the industrial
investigators to place the discovery
on a commercial basis. What follows
was obtained from Prof. Hallock in his
laboratory while the experiment was
being made.
In the first place." said Prof. Hal
lock, ''it must be conceded that the
word darkness is only a relative term.
There are very few places in the world
that are absolutely dark in the true
sense of the word. The number of sub
stances which are capable of storing
sunlight all day and then emitting it
at night is very great. 1t may be that
all substances are capable of doing it
to a greater or less extent. During the
last five years the investigation of the
energy of such substances has been
very extended. Prof. McKissick of
Auburn, Ala, made experiments with
many common substances such as su-
gar, glucose and chalk, and was able
to make photographs with the energy
that emanated from them after they
had been exposed to the sun all day.
Prof. McKissick and his assistants also
found that many strictly chemical sub
stances were possessed of this power of
storing energy. French scientists gave
the subject special attention and Becz
querel achieved fame in this line. He
discovered that uranium salts do not
need sunlight from which to draw en-
ergy, but are all the time giving off
radiations, which are X-ray in quality
in that they will pass through opaque
bodies and affect Photographic plates
on the other side.
"McKissick placed some coins and
keys on plate holder containing a
Photographic plate. On these he placed
piece of wood 21a inches thick. On
the wood he placed some common
brown sugar which had been allowed
to absorb sunlight and he covered all
with a black cloth and left them in q
dark room for some hours. When ex-
posed 1T was found that the energy
from the sugar had passed through the
wood and the cover of the plate holder
and had photographed the metal OBJ
jects on the sensitive place. Becquerel
discovered that uranium salts were
capable of performing quite as wonder
full feats, but that their energy seemed
to be an initial energy. At least it was
not due to stored sunlight.
Then came Mime Curie a vro,r a ,,
scientist working in Paris, who dis
covered the radio-activity of Shorium
and afterward of pitchblende. Work.
ing with her husband she succeeded in
extracting from pitchblende a sub
stance named polonium which proved
to be at least 100000 times more radio
active than uranium. Out of pitch
blende still other substances were OBJ
tanned such as radium and actinium.
So far. no one has been able to dis
cover the cause of these rays AL
though invisible they have manifested
their presence very positively in other
ways. They will affect Photographic
plates in the dark. Radium rays will
turn ordinary white glass to a brown
or a violet tint and like x-rays have
caused Inflammation when applied to
the human skin.
Lord Kelvin has shown that some
conducting an electric current, but
that they are capable of generating a
current. He connected a plate of COP
per and plate Of zinc by means of a
wire and then exposed the two plates
to uranium rays. The moment this
was done, an electric current began
to flow along the wire. Prof. Pegram
quoting Becquered, says the velocity of
the rays Is about half that of ordinary
light, but that the was te is so small that
the loss from a So en-. of surface
would be something like a millgram
In thousand-milion years. Heat or
cold, high or low pressure, does not
affect them. So that taking them all
In all they constitute the most wonder
ful physical phenomena within our OBJ
servation at the present time.
Now you know that x-rays were
long invisible until tungstate of cal
cium was used in the Horoscope 20
make them visible. II occurred 10 me
that some similar substance might be
combined with these products Of pitch
blende to make them visible. After
some consideration 1 fixed upon Pla-
tino-barlum cyanide. / tried II with
the salts. The experiment was a sue
cess. / was able to see the light. But
come with me 10 the dark room and
see for yourself"
He picked up a shallow paper box.
the size OF a watch crystal. contain