New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-08
ORIGIN or PADIUN.

Professor Z. Rutherford, of McGu University
Montreal, who has been conspicuous for his in
yeStgatOn of the properties of radioactive sub
stances in the last two or three years, supplies
to the May number of "The Popular Science
Monthly" a thirty page summary of the best
information on the subject now available. Much
of the article, Of course is mere reiteratiOn Of
statements previously made, but number Of
points are brought out which, if not altogether
new, have not received much attention hitherto
It Will be remembered that from the most
powerful of the five or six radio active elements
now known radium), three kinds Of particles
are elected, named, respectively, the alpha, beta
and gamma rays. Heat is evolved and there is
| Il gaseous emanation. In size the alpha parti-
cleS are vastly superior to the beta particles
They seem TO carry charges Of positive cleo
tricity, but there has been great difficulty in
establishing the belief. They are DETECTED by
n magnet from their normal paths-a very sug-
gestive fact TO the physicist; but when an at
tempt is made to detect a charge by other
means the result IS disappointing. The beta
particles carry negative electricity, and are be-
lieved to be identical with the rays emitted from
the metallic terminal in a vacuum tube known
as cathode. The X rays discovered by R0nt-
gen seem to be products of the cathode rays. 1t
was once thought that they were generated by
collision between the latter and the inner sur
face of the glass tube That notion has not been
confirmed; but it is thought that the gamma
particles emitted by radium are the same as the
rays, except that they have higher power of
penetration and that they originate at the in
slant and by the operation of the expulsion of
the beta particles from the parent atom Pro
fessor Rutherford refers to the theory of Stokes.
j. j. Thomson and others that Y rays are ether
undulatiOns. akin TO light; but he himself finds
the evidence that they are particles more con-
vincing. Reports that gamma rays have been
DETECTED by a magnet tand hence carry electric
charges Of one kind or another occasionally 90
on record, but the Montreal expert does not con-
slider them conclusive, From an electrical point
Of view they seem to be neutral The heat
evolved by radium is found to be almost exactly
proportional to the alpha particles emitted. and
ProiessoS Rutherford infers that they excite
it mechanically by bombardment of the sir
rounding mass.
One Of the most striking features of "The
Popular Science Monthly" article is the arrr
ment that the continuous generation of heat and
the projection Of particles having enormous We
locities do not, as has been alleged upset the
doctrine of tho conservation of energy" In
both phenomena Professor Rutherford sees
merely the liberation Of energy whose eyistenco
has hitherto been unsupported. and which is
stored up in the atom He accepts the doctrine
OF Thomson that an atom is composed of cor
puscles which move among themselves with
extraordinary swiftness and that when the svs-
tenn dsintegrates the fragm Its are carried out-
ward by the forces previously in play. OnIv
few atoms break up at time but these are he
ueVed to be able to account for all the mani
festatons yet observed
little has already been heard about tho
transformations through which the aaseous
elnanaton from radium passes but only one
Oh them mas made any appeal to popular
curiosity. This is the change into boIi1n,
which occurs within a few days and which
may eventually prove to be only the first of
a series of attentions in the gas The n,odi
hcanons which occur In the solid residue loft
IN n tube which contains the radium emano-
ton are almost equally strange For Deriod
Of three minutes that material emits aInbo
rays. During the next twenty-one minutes
none Of any kind be detected For tba
ensuing twenty-eight minutes alpha beta md
gamma rays are generated simultaneously. To
the unscientifc mind It would seem as If these
differences indicated merely dissimilar states
or conditions Of the same substance Professor
Rutherford goes n little further for he assumes
that there is n succession of products" ono
being converted into another. He names them
radium A." "radium i" and ''radium c." re-
spectively. When both gas and solid deposit
have been removed from n tube in which the
enahauon mas been connned The walls of the
receptacle continue to show effects for long
time. At first only beta rays thrown off
but, by degrees and after a few weeks alpha
rays also appear, their intensity slowly and
steadily increasing. Professor Rutherford feels
justified in believing that he has here two new
substances, which should be designated 'ra
dunn ID" and "radIum r.
The rate at which radium decays forces the
physicist 10 speculate regarding the origin of
that now remaining. Supposing-Wh is really