The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-29
THE WONDERS or RADEUM.
Theoretically ~ Has Power EBsQSh %
Drive an Aeroplane 60 veuns.

Theoretically n Has Power Enough %
DRIVE an Aereplane 60 vemns.
To rHE EDITOR or TEE SuN-6tr: To The
casual reader the statement attributed 70
Harvard's boy prodigy william sidis that
there ID enough power In radium 20 drive an
airshlp to the planet Venus In twenty min-
utes Seems preposterous. butacsually itis not
30. According 60 Professor Frederick Soddy
OF the University Of GlAsgow the beta radiA-
tons Of radinm travel with the speed Of
light, that 10. at $4,000 miles second.
Some idea Of the titanic force Of radium can
be- gained when Il u remembered that the
Rinesic energy of . moving body increases
- the square Of the velocity IN feet. TAs
mind 81 man h staggered by such rsvsla-
tons.
The atom Is seen TO DO the germ q The
universe containing all the secrets a NJ
ture. The laws which govern the heavens
q nd the earth are the laws Of tho atom. and
the power compelling obedience 20 thess
laws Ia the power Of the atom. Light.
electricity and gravieation are merely
manifestations Of atomic power.
The alpha radiations Of radium make NJ
the ma ority Of the'discharRed corpuscles
and travel according to some authorities
st 10000 miles q second. Tho gamma
rays are faster than the beta rays, but
are fewer. The great discovery In con-
nection with the Investigation OF radium
Is transmutation Of the elements. Having
discovered from the rate Of radiation Of
uranium and radium that the former dis. B
integrates In 7.5oo. 100000 years and the
latter in , 800 years. tho scientific worl0 va,
astonished to discover that In any given
qua nifty Of pitchblends the amount Of url-
mum 90 radium bore the same ratio as the
period OF life Of uranium 10 that % radiuul.
This was conclusive evidence that uranium
was the parent oi radium.
Following up this line Of Investigation
uranium was discovered whose life q
thIrty-two days Then came an unknowa
element. the immediate parent OF radium,
Of which little II known. Radium was
found to give birth TO radium A. whose
life u . minutes Radium 4 then gives
birth to radium d. whose life i thirty
eight minutes Radium u was fouad 20
he the parent OF radium &. which lasts
for N minutes Away down the line
lead "a seen 70 be q legitimate descendant
Of radium. but the connecting links have
not yet been discovered n Il beloved
that gold and silver are related one TO
another
The science OF radioactivity L. 90 young
that only certain elements have been dis
covered to be radioactive. Enough has
been learned. however. to indicate that
all matter h radioactive. that each element
has definite period Of life. that the rela-
tive duration Of each b the Same as the rela-
tive quantity OF each. and that a. each
element h slowly transformed into another
vast stores OF energy are released. together
with mysterious activities which constt-
1ute all the principles and phsno mena %
the universe THIS IL the grand Theory
Of disintegration the greatest theory ever
To return 20 the opinion that IN twenty
minutes an air or ether shin could be driven
to Venus In the first place Il would BE-
necessary to exhaust all the power Of the
radium Al once We hope to do something
like this some day Taking the alpha
radiatlons. which travel AZ 20 .OOO miles q
second, and dischargtng one pound Of them
At once an equal and opposite recotl would
occur sukficieut to project a pound weight
through space ~ q velocity OF 20 900 mnes
= second. in twenty minutes the pound
weight would 40 n. OOo. 900 miles, which
y . little mors than the distance between
the earth and Venus &C the nearest approach
Of the two planets. The eame quantity
% radium could carry q hundred or q thou
sand pounds over the same distance N
the power was exhausted slowly and the
rate Of speed reduced from twenty minutes
ties would have to Be efowiY developed
or the life OF the traveller would be crushed
out
A. ret no way has been discovered 90
exhaust the energy Of radium or uranium
a. will Uranium r. more powerful than
rsdun and quite q common element n
lts energies could Be quickly tAppsd the
fond dream Of ehe scientist would be real
ized and man would become the master of
" wv YorH. March e > AcLAO0HiAS