The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-03-17
THORIUM AS MEDICINE
Rsoperties of Cheap Metal That
May Rival Radiun.
It COSTS ONLY ST A POUND

Il COSTS ONLY ST A POUND.
EDz one-Eaislionth of the Cost of Ra-
lzzts1n Similar Radio Active Effects
Are Now Obtained--Rare Metal Dis
covered by Berzelius Is Found In
Certain North Carolina Sands.
Through experiments now being
made by physicians and scientists an
ether substance with radio active prop
critics, known to scientists as thOrfum,
may take the place Of radium as
therapeutic agent and come into COM
mon use for the treatment of tubercu-
hosis and other human ills. Thorium is
a rare metal, discovered in 1928 by Ber-
selius, and is found in certain sands In
North Carolina, Brazil, Norway and
Sweden. 1t costs 81 pound, while ra-
aium costs 100000 pound, with
quotations constantly going up.
During the last few years thorium
has been used chiefly for producing the
mcandescence in nantes used on gas
burners, and it is only within recent
period that physicians have been ex-
2erimenting with it in medical way.
DIR. Samuel G. Tracy of New York
recently cont ibuted an article to the
Medical Record in which he describes
in detail some OF the results Of his ex-
aeriments with the radio active prop
arties Of the metal. Photographic tests
made by DR.. Tracy have demonstrated
chat it contains the same quality Of
fadio activity as radium. only In much
Tsser degree.
With three broken NANTES he was
able to get fairly good negative in
dark room with seventy-two hours ex-
posture With oxide of thorium he OBJ
tanned a negative in forty Eight hours,
and with emanations Of hot thorium
sxide the same result was obtained in
enc hour.
In its application as medical agent
he article says: 1.-The radio activity en-
anates from thoritm in every form,
whether in powder, solution, paste or
ointment The best results, however,
are likely to be obtained from the
gaseous emanations when used as an
inhalation This form of emanation
may be obtained either by making So
hutton of the thorium nitrate or, better
still, by heating the oxide in glass
receptacle. For external application
Lhorium may be made into paste or a
% per cent. ointment and used as an
antiseptic in chronic skin diseases, par
eicularly those of parasitic origin"
Description is given in the article Of
experiments made and apparatus used
by DR.. Soddy of London and Hugo
Liber of Germany in The treatment of
tuberculosis by thorium inhalations.
The radio activity of thoriun is many
thousand times less than that of radi-
um, and 1t differs IN other respects.
Professor Ernest Rutherford of Nc
Gill university, Montreal, says that
''when theorium nitrate is changed into
an oxide by heat it temporarily loses its
radio activity, but when exposed to the
air it soon regains its activity. In four
days it is one and a half times more
actius, in twelve days two and half
times, and at the end of two weeks it
reaches it's maximum radio activity,
which is four times as great as was the
original nitrate of thorium."
The emanations from radium do not
last as long as from thorium; there
fore, together with its cheapness, it is
booked on as an important element in
the treatment of certain diseases If ex-
Reriments prove that its potency is as
great as scientists and physicians hope.
Tests already made have demonstrate
ed that thorium is as inimicai to germ
Afe as radium, and experiments with
grape juice and other substances of
similar nature show that 1t prevents
fermentation.
Professor Rutherford was among the
FIRST to investigate the properties OF
shorium His researches have done
more, perhaps, than has been effected
by any one else toward solving its mys-
aeries. In 1900 he discovered that it
gave sepff an inert and highly radio
active gas, which he termed "emana-
dom
This gas dltfuseS through liquids and
ever Through porous substances. He
considers this emanation to be the re-
salt of successive chemical changes
The emanation expels from itself a
negatively charged body, which con-
stitutes the Becquerel rays, the same
as those produced by radium, polonium,
actiniGm and uranium.
"Syracuse Cow For Indians.