The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-02-15
WHAT WILL OCCUR
WHEN OUR SUPPLY
OF COAL is GONE
German Professor Thinks That
Radium Will Supply Place
of Other Fuel

DR.. A. n. Bucherer, professor OF
physics in the University Of Bonn
Germany, who is at the Belmont, SAID
yesterday that, the people who lose
sleep worrying about the possible ex-
haustion Of the worlds coal supply ano
the gradual freezing up of everything
with folks turning to icicles or set
there is still some fire left, had no
cause to be troubled. BY the time
the coal gives out the doctor thinks,
if it ever does, radium will be doing
all the work that fuel now accom-
plishes and more.
DR.. Bucherer is qualified to speak
with some degree Of prophetic insight
time to the investigation of radium,
and he makes his prediction in the
light Of the wonderful discovery of
Sir William Ramsay, the great Eng
lish scientist, that radium will split
up some things that had hitherto been
supposed non-splitable, and in sthe
splitting set loose a tremendous lot
will one day be harnessed up and
made to drive tractab1y.
It was in Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity that DR.. Bucherer, asa student,
began his research work, although
that was before anybody knew there
was such a thing as radium. The
doctor paid a visit to his old alma
found the same spirit of inquiry that
had always characterized that insti-
tuition still existent.
'In Germany" said DR.. Bucherer
yesterday, "the subject Of interest
among physicists is still the princi-
pie Of relativity-that motion can only
be defined by a chance in the relative
of Ia he
great American physicist, Nicholson,
Of Chicago University, disproved the
Maxwellian theory that motion could
be defined as a change of position rel
alive to the all pervading ether, and
established that the only motion Of
matter is relative to matter.
stMy own laboratory work is con-
cerned principally with radium.
have used some Of the properties Of
radium for investigating the very
problem which Nicholson has investi-
gated, because the effects Of motions
of material bodies relatively to one
another can only be investigated by
imparting to such bodies velocities
which approach that Of, light. such as
off by rad UNI, which move with nine
tenths of the velocity of light.
lone finds that matter behaves en-
tirely different under such circum-
stances from what has been supposed
hitherto. One of the most peculiar
results has been that what physicists
call the mass Of the projected arti-
Gle becomes increasingly large as we
increase the velocity with which we
project it. In Germany everybody
takes the keenest interest in the prob
lem Of finding out experimentally in
what law the mass Of a body de-
ponds upon it's velocity. The basis of
all this investiga ton is radiunl.
Unfortunately the high price Of ra-
dium is in the way of more extern
sive investigation than is being car
ried on. The chief source Of the worlds
supply is still the pitchblend deposits
Of Joachimstal, in Bohemia, though
by own radium comes from the Unit
ed States. The Austrian government
does not allow the ore to be taken
from the country, and the product is
extracted under government supervis-
ion. They have been getting only
about one grain Of radium out of
ton Of ore, though the method Of ex-