The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-25
From Popular Mechanics.


A MONG scientists, it is very gener-
"a ally conceded that the discovery
\ of radium gave to the world one
of its most interesting and unique riddles.
After all the "cranks,'' as well as gen.
fuses, had failed to produce perpetual
| motion machine; after all the alchemists
and their scientific successors, the chem
lists. had failed to change any single
chemical element into another. and the
the impossibilty of achieving either of
these aims. the discovery of the phe-
nomena of radioactivity seemed to show
the fallacy of the conclusion in both
cases.
The discovery of radium was the logi-
cal result of the attempt of Becquerel,
in 1906, to find a chemical substance
which would produce X-rays. This ia
nous French scientist seemed to have
succeeded when he found that all conf
pounds of the rather rare element uran-
ium gave rays that, like x-rays, could
penetrate lightproof screens and act upon
Photographic plates. A very remarkable
fact was then discovered; the ores of
uranium were far more active than their
uranium content would lead one to ex-
pect This discovery led Nine Curie, the
brilliant young wife of Professor Curie,
Becquerels colleague, to search for other
active substances than uranium in such
minerals. After two or three years of
most difficult work, from a ton of ore as
much radium as could be heaped upon
dime was obtained, in the form of pure
radium chloride, white crystalline sub
stance over 100000 times as active as
an equal weight of uranium. A bit of
this radium no larger than pin head
could produce a photograph in minute
or two The radium itself glowed family
in the dark and caused certain minerals.
as zinc blende or diamonds, brought near
it to glow quite brilliantly. Viewed with
magnifying glass, the glow of the
zinc blende is seen to be due to numer-
Gus distinct sparks or scintillations, each
visible for but a moment.
Not only light, but heat also is pro-
duced. At first 1t was thought that this
heat was produced continuously and
with no apparent diminution or loss of
radium as time went on This led to
the statement that radium was a source
of perpetual energy We now know that
the rate of heat production is slowly di-
minishing and that a given quantity of
radium can produce only a limited total
amount OF heat energy, which is, how
ever about 100000 times as great as that
formed by the burning of an equal weight
of coal. The chemical and physiological
al foro n
great Importance.
The rays or radiations of radum are
of three sorts, the alpha" the beta
and the gamma rays. The latter are
nearly identical with X-rays, the peta
rays are electrons OF particles of negative
electricity shot out at velocities OF over
100 900 miles a second. The alpha rays
are material particles. also shot out ~
nearly as great velocities as the beta
ravs. The Identification of the alpha
RAYS as atoms of the gaseous elem
lbe,ium was one of the gerat discover
that went far to explain the mystery 81
redium.
Af9y adequate theory in explanation =
the uhenomena of radioactivity NJ
naturally be based on an assumption
garding the nature of matter and ee
structure of the atoms 1t has long
| evident that we can not consider Il
atoms to be solid, indivisihle parti
| II is now thought that an atom is 8
Iup of electrons and helium particles
ling in concentric circles with enori
velocities, and that the atoms OF one
ment only in the number and arra
lment of their component parts Sue
atomic system would usually be ST
Is in case Of elements not radioaq