Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-11
NEW ELEMENT FOUND
PoLoNIUM, A STRANGE METAL,
PUZZLES SCIENTISTS.
Substance Produces a Never-Ceasing
Bombardment Electrous-Blind
May See.
From the New York Herald.

From the New York Herald.
Polonium. the new element. which was
exploited in a series of most interesting ex-
periments by Prof. w. Maxwell before the
chemical congress In Berlin, is really the
discovery Of a woman-one of the most
learned women in the world and one who is
today recognized as among the truly great
pioneers of chemistry. Married to a French
man, she is a Pole by birth. and 1t was
patriotism that led her to give to her new
discovery the name by which the world
now knows it-Polonium.
Scientists as yet understand too little Of
the marvellous properties Of this new ele-
ment to venture more than vague predic-
tons Of what spheres of future usefulness
it may fill; but 1t Is not improbable that 1t
may be found to perform the present func-
lions of the so-called Roentgen or X-rays
far more powerfully and without the some
what cumbrous apparatus now essential to
their use.
More Luminous Than Radium.
In a much higher degree even than ra-
dunn it possesses the property of shining in
the dark. and although 1t is known that
actual particles, enthusiastically small, are
being shot out from it continually-a fact
which Is proved by magnetic experiments
this strange substance does not seem to
exhaust itself nor to lose its luminous pow
ers with the passage of time. Here. there
fore, is hint, at least. Of the future posi-
bility Of constant and brilliant illumi-
nant generated without heat or combustion.
AS result Of the discovery of this bril-
liant Polish woman Nine. Curie, she and
her husband and a few chosen associates
are enjoying at present practical monop-
oily of a treasure mine richer far than one
of gold or diamonds Polonium is more
valuable than radium, and Prof. Curie him
self, who has chemically pure specimen
Of radium not larger than a buckshot and
weighing less than half grain, would not
sell 1t for $4,000 Strangely enough, the
substance from which these precious grains
of polonium are extracted is pitchblende,
sort Of by-product found in Austria and
heretofore regarded as valueless after it
had been used for the extraction Of ura-
num-
1t is from the cast off material of a Bo-
hemian mine operated by the Austrian gov
eminent that Nine. Curie and her husband
are now obtaining their rich store of po-
lonium. But as they were enterprising
enough to obtain control of all Of 1t that
was in sight before others knew it's rare
possibilities, there is little polonium to be
had even in Europe except through them,
and practically none at all in America.
Blind May Be Made to See.
Radium also is the discovery Of Nine.
Curie. What radium will do, she herself
believes, polonium will do to a far greater
degree. If, as DR.. Luden, a German scien-
list, is reported to have said in Berlin
cable dispatch yesterday, he has proved by
experiments that rays reflected from
dunn enable the blind to see more less
clearly, then radium and polonium may yet
be destined to work veritable modern
miracles.
DR.. Luden says that two Russian blind
dogs, on whom he has experimental, have
permanently regained their sight through
the use of these rays. Startling as that
statement seems. Prof. c. w. Canolt of
Columbia University said in a recent paper
in the Scientific American:
zone Of the most striking properties of
radium is its luminosity. The pure radium
chloride emits enough light to enable one
to distinguish printed characters. The rays
from radium excite phosphorescence in
many bodies, such as zinc, sulphide, dia-
mond and even common salt. The luminos
ity of radium Is, perhaps but the phosphor-
essence produced by it's own rays. If
small quantity of radum is held against
the forehead while the eyes are closed one
will see light. The rays penetrate to the
retina and cause it to phosphoresce."
In the same article Prof Kanalt gives an
interesting account of what led up to the
discoveries of Nine. Curie and her husband.
He says:
History Of the Discovery.
I'm 1896 Prof Henri Becquerel of the
Conservative des Aries ct Meters, at
Paris, discovered the radio activity Of
uranium. He found that all compounds Of
uranium. as well as the metal itself con-
tinually emit radiations. which act upon
Photographic plates and have penetrating
power similar to that of the X-rays In
veStigatorS Immediately experimental with
various materials with the hope that they
might find other substances having the
same property as uranium.
Prof Curie of the Ecale de Physique ct
de Chime Industrielles. at Paris, and Nine
Curie turned their attention to pitch
blende, mineral which consists largely of
oxides Of uranium. They found that some
samples of this mineral from Bohemia pos
sessed a greater activity than either uran-
ium or thorium. the only substances then
known to be radio active. This led them 10
the conclusion that the activity of the
pitchblende must be due to some new ele-
ment of great activity In order to find
this new substance they dissolved a guam
tity of pitchblende in acids and separated
the material into portions containing diff
ferent elements. They then observed which
of these portions possessed io-activity
One portion they believed to contain a new
element, which they called polonum; an
other yielded radium.