Fergus County argus., 1903-06-17

What is all this about radium?
What is radium? Where does it come
from? What is the use of il? These
are questions which have frequently
been asked during the last two Or
three weeks, and have sometimes
been answered in very odd ways. To
begin with, radium is not found in
pitch, though that origin has been
assigned to it in print, and cutting
has been produced from more than
one pocketbook to confute the rash
skeptic. It Is obtained from a min
eral called pitch-blende, which really
differs rather widely from pitch in It's
physical properties. Pitch-blende Is
an ore found in Saxony, and contain.
ing iron, barium, uranium and other
metals. Along with these are very
small quantities of radium, the ex-
traction OF which is very laborious
and costly business. Looking for
needle in a haystack is probably
more exhilarating occupation than
looking for a few milligrammes Of
radium in true load Of pitch-blende.
Naturally the stuff is rather dear.
Anybody who can get a supply fairly
pure at 10 shillings per milligramme
would not hurt himself much by max
ing corner" That price works out
at somewhere near e35 per grain, or,
say roughly, e15,000 per ounce; but,
as there is not an ounce in the mar
ket, the quotation may he taken as
nominal. OF course, We never know
what may happen. Somebody may
dig into a store of radium less horri-
bly, entangled in masses Of refractory
ore But for reasons too recondite
to be explained here, this is regarded
as extremely improbable.
The stuff makes amends for the
smallness of its amount by its re-
markable properties. A little of it
goes very long way. There are some
bodies that can be stimulated by light
or otherwise in such a manner that
they afterward shine in the dark.
Radium brought near to these bodies
causes them to shine. A mere frac.
tion of a grain in solution poured
from one vessel to another leaves on
them enough of itself, even after they
are washed in the usual way, to give
them temporarily the power OF caus-
ing this light effect upon a sensitive
screen. 1t is like a grain of musk
making everything in wardrobe smell
of musk though there has been no
material contact. Something must
pass from the radium to the sensitive
body, and the puzzle just now is as
to the nature of the something. Does
radium shoot off infinitely minute par
ticles of itself to produce its effects?
What explains such suicidal conduct,
which. going on through geological
time, might explain why so little rad
ium is left? Or does it do something
to the ether, which in turn does some
thing to the sensitive screen? Again,
why does it go on doing this. when
apparently nothing is being done TO
the radium itself? There are all sorts
of theories, but in reality nobody
knows. This is not the worst, how
ever. M. and Nine. Curie, two distin-
guished French investigators, have
recently announced that radium emits
heat, steadily and constantly. They
have measured the amount and find 1t
quite considerable. Charity begins at
home, and radium does not forget to
keep itself warm. 1t Is said to be al
ways between two and three degrees
hotter than the other things In its
vicinity, whereas every well conduct
ed substance comes to the same tenn
perature as its surroundings. This
paradoxical behavior calls urgently
for explanation. but as yet none is
forthcoming. There are cynics who
recall the story of King Charles and
the Royal society. Before explaining
why radium is hot, they would like
further assurance that it is hot. On
the other side 1t is pointed out that
M. Curie has a great reputation at
stake, and that the incredible nature
of his announcement must have been
fully realized by himself and must
have made him doubly and trebly
careful to verify his results in every
possible way. He is coming over here
to lecture at the Royal Institution in
June, so we may then hear more
about his methods and proofs, II the
full light of truth is not meanwhile
turned on by native inquirers.
Radium has yet other properties
which are also remarkable, though
they chiefly concern the psychologist.
Hold a tube containing a few milli-
grammes near a mans temple and he
will get the sensation OF fash Of
light. Most of us have seen stars at
school under the stimulous OF sharp
tap on the nose, and radium produces
much the same effect without vio-
lence. II kept for a few hours near