The copper era. (Clifton, Graham County, Ariz.) 1899-1911, 1903-05-21
The Marvels Of Radium
BIZ GARRETT P. sERvIss.

vile OF the most extraordinary OF all
chemical elements, radium, brings the
wonderful properties Of that substance
, once more TO public attention. Ea-
dun. whose existence as an independ-
eut element was finally demonstrated
last year. presents about the greatest
puzzle with which science has TO deal.
It seems to violate-althOugh no
/ scientist i prepared TO admit that it
actually does violate-the fundamental
laws or energy. In a word, it gives
out energy INCREASINGLY without re-
vealing the source. 1t appears to
draw upon an inexhaustible supply,
and yet receives nothing in return
from without Ia this respect il
seems to realize the dream, which
science mas pronounced impossible, OF
perpetual motion.
". Curie's new announcement l. 70
the effect that a piece OF radium is con-
tinualllv giving off heat, keeping it.
self at temperature two and seven
: tenths degrees Fahrenheit above its
surroundings. This Is sufficient to en-
able it 10 melt its own weight OF ice in
less than an hour, and 10 keep on
melting ice at the same rate indefi-
nitely.
IT radium were an abundant SUBJ
stance. think Of the consequences Of
this strange property. But unfortuu-
ately-or, perhaps, fortunately-ra-
dium is one Of the rarest things upon
the cartn. It is never found in the
pure state. 1t must he ASSOCIATED
from the other substances with which
it is combined, by long, tedious and
costly chemical operations. 1t is OBJ
tanned from d mineral called pitch
blcnde, found in Bohemia, and during
the two or three wears that have |
elapsed since its discovery by Madame |.
and Monsieur Curie of Paris they |
haye succeeded in separating out OF
tons and tons OF pitch blende less than |
two pounds Of radium. That is all !
that exists. uncOmbined, in the world, |
aud even that is not the pure thing.
1t is mingled with more or less barium.
The Curies do possess, however, one
;iny bit of chemically pure radium.
1t weighs about half grain, and is
said to be of the size of buckshot.
NJ Curie has declared that he would
not sell it for one hundred thousand
francs. If he and his wife have a
monopoly of this precious substance,
they are not getting rich out OF it.
The demand is not active. Half a
grain OF impure radium in a little
tube is offered in Paris for five thousand
dollars.
y thief who run off with a bit OF
radium a big as small diamond
would find that he had caught Tar
tar. / he kept it in his pocket, it
would produce an Inflammation that
might cost him his life. 1t he held it
near his eyes, he could easily lose his
sight. II he handled it much, his fin
gers would get sore and might have to
be amputated. Monsieur Curie is
quoted as saying that he would not
venture into room containing n kilO-
gram Of pure radiIm; for, il he did,
he would probably lose his skin, his
eyesight and his life!
This being so, let us examine lit
tie more the properties OF radium.
We have noted Monsieur Curie's re-
cent announcement about its giving OFF
heat. |. gives off light also. Pure
radium shines in the dark, although it
is not hot like a flame. But most
wonderful of all, it constantly projects
into space around its streams OF invisi-
bic cOrpusclcs, smaller than atoms,
with Il velocity as grcata as Il hundred
thousand miles per second.
1t is this marvellous and ceaselcss
pom bardment OF its surroundings that
makes radium so dangerous to handle.
The Indefinitely minute PARTICLES can |
not, of course, be seen, but they affect :
plates, and it was in
hat manner that the existence of |
hese inc applicable radiating streams
vas first demonstrated.
Radium is omnivorous in its appe-
lite for obscure and mysterious proper
-
stream of pulverized atoms, it gives
1T, at the same time, at least two
,ther, different, kinds Of rays. Ore
# these resembles the ordinary X
'ays from Crookes tube, the other
consists OF something that is easily
stopped or absorbed by interpOsed OBJ
,tacles. But even these absOrbable
'ays have the tremendous velocity of ,
Eighteen or twenty thousand miles
Der second.
Monsieur Curie's buckshot OF pure
'adium Is, in some respects, a minia- .
ure of the sun. 1t draws no light, no {
neat, no energy, from surrounding
space, but it radiates them generally
and continuously upon everything
about it. Helmholtz solved that rid
die for us many years ago. The sun
IS no per petual- machine, and it
violates no law known to science BY
the gradual, and to US imperceptible,
shrinking OF its gigantic bulk it gen.
crates the emery that it gives off. y
somewhat similar explanation has
been offered to account for the mys-
FERROUS energy of radtum. Messrs.
Rutherford and McCluug. of the Nc
Gil | piyarSitv N -