The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-02-07
RADluM CARNATIONS.
Brought into Contact With Daa.
nouds, They Clarity the Gems.

Brought into Contact with Dis.
moutla. They Clarity the Gems.
The universal interest awakened by
recent experiments with that wonder
ful new property of matter, radio &C.
tivity, has served to make the world
Of readers generally aware Of the fact
that diamonds phosphoresce brilliantly
In the dark when exposed to the ema-
nations from radium. Indeed 1t has
been suggested that this property Of
fers a sure and ready means of detect
ing fraudulent stones. But Sir William
Crookes has just discovered that radi-
um produces another effect upon din-
monds which Is still more remarkable
and possibly Of more commercial i'm
portance. 1t appears to be able to cure
the defect Of "off color" stones by
changing their Objectionable yellowish
hue to the desirable pale blue or blue
green tint characteristic Of first water
gems.
Sir william took two yellowish dia-
monds, closely matched in color and
quality, and placed one Of them inside
tube containing radium bromide,
keeping 1t there continuously for Pc
Rod Of seventy-eight days. In the
meantime the other stone was kept in
a drawer carefully placed at safe
distance from all radium and other
radio active substances. At the end Of
the time mentioned the two diamonds
were compared, and it was found that
the one which had been subjected to
the action of the radium emanations
had been deprived completely Of its
yellowish color, but at the same time
its surface had been considerably dark
ened with a deposit Of graphite. After
being heated, however, for ten days in
mixture of strong nitric acid and po-
tassiun chlorate the dull Aim disap-
peared, and the stone appeared per-
fectly transparent and sparkling with
beautiful blue green tinge.
The explanation seems to be that the
state of continual vibration in which
the diamond was kept by the lombard
ment Of the radium emanations for 80
many days produced an internal
change, resulting in an alteration Of
the color of the stone. Thus the effect
Of the emanations. as the experimenter
suggests, may be to cause chemical
AZ well as physical change, and he
adds that If the yellowish hue is due
to the presence in the diamond of iron
IN the "ferric" state a reduction to the
ferrous" state would quite account
for the change of color. 1t may be said
by way Of explanation that iron in the
terric state shows a yellowish or red
dish color and In the ferrous state a
greenlsh or blush color.
This discovery is one Of the most In.
teresting as well as most unexpected
that have yet been made concerning the
effects Of the radium emanations. The
Investigating chemist interested princi-
pally in the purely scientific aspects Of
the phenomenon is not likely to care
very much about the possible results
on the diamond market, but possessors
OF OF color stones may comfort them
selves with the thought that science
has possibly found a way to increase
the value as we'll as the beauty Of their
jewels, although in the present state of
the matter 1t would perhaps cost more
to "cure" a cheap stone by course OF
radium treatment than to exchange IL
for better one.-Garrett p. Serviss in
Success Magazine.