Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-02-15
TRANSMITTING OF
METALS CLAIMED
London Scientists Assert Big
Discovery.
PRODUCE NEON AND HELIUM.'

Read Papers Showing How Elements
Have Been Changed or Else Matter
Has Been Produced From Energy.
Chemists Greet Revelation With
Deep Wonderment.
At a meeting of the London Chem.
ical society recently papers were read
by Sir William Ramsay and Professors
Norman Collie aud II. Patterson,
which assert that the authors have
done one OF two things. They have
achieved clearIy~and definitely the
transmutation of elements or they have
evolved matter from energy.
At the outset of his paper Sir Will
liam referred to THE mild ineredulity
with which some years ago the scien-
tiic world received the announcement
that he and Cameron IA obtained
lithium from copper he hen de-
scribed further the experiments which
resulted in the discovery. in gold X
ray bulbs he had discovered helium.
The joint paper of Messrs, Collie and
Patterson dealt with the discovery or
the presence of neon In hydrogen after
the passage of MI electric discharge
through hydrogen at low pressure.
Their experiments carried Sir William
Ranisay's work to the further point
that botlr neon and he!ium had been
produced from substances in which
they were previously not known to be
present.
Various Possibilities.
There We're various possibilities. Ii
might be that the elements OF tue tuhe
in e%lectrolysis gave neon or helium un.
der the influence of the discharge,
This gave ten or Il dozen elements to
choose from Ms the Sonrce.
Again. there was a chance that by
drogen was the source. or it was pos
sibIe that they were dealing with n
primordial form of matter. the primor-
dial atoms of which. when produced.
had all the energy necessary for form
ihS ~ Wy Ire GOnlbitldllOli Va
these atoms.
Atoms Of elements which VIII be
found in helium and possibly 81 hydro
gen We're present in a nebular state. and
they were present i'm the experimental
tube. Possibly the electric current di-
rected the dow of these atoms with the
full force of its energy and, with the
phenomena of heat and light, the ele-
ments came into existence.
At any rate one thing seemed GER
tain-elenients could be changed. and
they could be changed 10 a way very
different from the way that felium
was changed. In It's case the process
could neither he FASTENED nor retarded,
but the present phenomenon was arti.
fetal, ard Il further progress was &C.
curing at the other end of the system
of atom producing elements of low
atomic weight.
Old ideas Corrected.
The old idea Of the transmutation of
elements had to be altered. We are
coming now to know more of subatom.
ic matter, and it had to be realized
that the old order changeth, yielding
place to the new.
Professor Arthur Smithells began the
discussion which followed the reading
of the papers by saying that he was
GREATNESS at the announcement made.
II required courage for scientific work
Crs to bring forward such results. The
obvious criticism was that in the ex-
pertinent enormous weight was ueces-
sarily laid on the spectroscope evil
dence, and his experience had taught
him caution in this respect. He felt
sure. however. that others were too
experienced to fall into the pitfalls.
He expressed his great qualification
that other researchers had taken up
the investigation,
In the hottest and most recently
formed stars hydrogen, helium and pos
sibly one or two other elements not
known on the earth make their ap.
pearance, an OF them being of light
atomic weight. As the stars cool down
the atoms become heavie or. IN other
words. You get synthesis Of atoms.
There is some process mt WORK hniIding
M the atom that tin uuw has never
been realized eXperimentally. but IN
the experiments Witnessed recently we
were apparently assisting at the Birth
Of the atom