The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-09-20
TALKS Of RAD|UM
A MODERN MARVEL
DR.. Charles Baskerville Gives
the History of 1t.
LIFT 500 TONS A MILE
The Discovery Of Such a Substance With Such
Marvellous Powers Provokes The I'm
agination Of Scientific and
Practical Mer.


Practical Mer.
DR.. Charles Baskerville, the bead OF
the Department of Chemistry of the
State University, was In the city yes
terday and an interview was sought with
him concerning "Radium," that recent
discovery which promises such wonderful
results.
Going to Dr. Baskerville was going to
headquarters on the subject, for he has
done most of the American work on
"Radium,' and he very kindly an
swered the reporters who sought lntor-
nation for himself and the world. The
interview tells of the wonderful properties
of this wonderful discovery.
. rWhat is this radlum about which
there has been more or less to say in the
Wess recently?"
Nearly ali great discoveries are the
outgrowth of the work OF numerous IL
vestigators. often lastin gthrough long
period of time. NJ Henry, a Frenchman
observed that zinc sulphide, one kind OF
which becomes phosphorescent III bright
light, affected Photographic plate
through paper similar to the x or Roent-
gen rays. A Russian, NJ. Niewenglovski
photographed through thin aluminium
with calcium sulphide which had been
rendered phosphorescent by exposure to
sunlight
Professor Becquerel while studying
the effect of these phosphorescent sub
stances on Photographic plate through
black paper one cloudy day placed his
covered sensitive late and uranium salt
in dark drawer, awaiting time when
the sun shone. By chance he developed
the plate without exposing to sunlight
and found it affected in the same manner
as if 1t had been exposed directly to the
sun. 1t was determined that uranium
gave out certain rays since called Bee
auered rays" This occurred in 1896 and
two years later Professor Currie and
his wife, Madame Sklodowska Currle, OF
the Sarbonne, Paris, discovered the new
element "Polonium' in pitchblende-a
lead uranium ore. This was four times
as active as the metallic uranium OBJ
tanned from the same material, also cali
ed uraninite."
.'These discoveries Immediately caused
a number of scientists to seek Tor other
sources of substances possessing such I'M
usual properties. In the same
dame Curie and DR.. Schmidt in Germany
observed that thorium is also radio
active as this property was termed by
the brilliant woman chemist. Becquerel
provided that the rays from uranium can
penetrate thin metallic screens and dis
charge electrified bodies.
''The next year, Sir William Crookes
in England obtained a uranium compound
which was freed from its active constl-
tuent. In 1898 Baskerville in America
fractioned thorium into parts Of different
activity and Rutherford in Canada OBJ
tanned fro mthorium a preparation
thousand times as strong as the original
thorium.
1.-The character OF these
was then studied by Elster and Ceitel III
Germany; Lord Kelvin in England; Ruth
erford in Canada; Beattie In France, and
Smoluckowski in Russia. A discussion OF
that work would lead me too far into
technicalities. Suffice it TO say that
eventually the Curies, by working up tons
of uraninite fromBohemia and Colorado,
eventually secured compounds OF the new
element, radium, which possesses such
unique properties as to cause 1t to be
the marvel of the Age. Tne chlorldes and
neous.y give out light which persists III
definitely as far as we know. The tenn
perature of radium bromide preparation
of 10000 activity (metallc uranium be-
ing taken as the standard at cne) is
about one and a half degrees Centigrade,
or saw three degrees Fahrenheit. above
the surrounding air. We might say 1t
mas good fever all the time, for this
co. at fan
nerature from 100 degrees c. to 200 de-
grees c., approximately the temperature
OF LIQUID air, as recently shown.
I'm their Photographic and electric ef-
fects the Becquerel rays approximate the
X-rays. Both possess the faculty OF pene-
ira ting all matter, but capacity OF pene-
tration is very different, the latter being
the stronger, at least for the greater part
of radiations from the radlum prepare
lions. A further discussion OF TINS would
carry me intoa somewhat involved CON
sideration of abstruse matters III
physics"
Doctor, you say these compounds are
at a higher temperature than the ar
which surrounds them; how's that?
professor Curie recently at the Royal
Institution In London gave a demonstra-
ton of the truth of that statement. The
heat evolved from the purest radlum salt
is sufficient to melt Its own weight OF
water in an hour and the radium appsr-
emily has not lost one iota of its heat or
energy. Lord Kelvin recently said that
the discovery of the Becquered radlatlons
had placed the first question mark against
the principle of the conservation of en-
ergy, since that principle had been eunn-
ciated. Naturally many ingenious expla-
nations have been offered to account Tor
this unusual phenomenon. We need not
say anything about them, however, as