The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1915-01-19

perature and having a combined flow
OF about $4,000 gallons daily There
are twenty-three bath houses receiv
ing water under lease from the United
States, besides the government free
bath house, for INDECENT persons, and
is managed by a superintendent, who
maintains order and sees that the
bath houses are conducted in proper
manner Many thousands of persons
visit Hot Springs every year for the
| purpose of taking the baths. and the
government is spending large sums of
money in improving and identifying
the Reservation.
In the Introduction of his report, DR..
! Boltwood gives lucid and interesting
account of the present state of our
knowledge concerning the radioactive
ity of water, and brief resume Of
the hstorNNf discoveries relating to
this phenomenon. He states that
! the PHENOMENON of radio-activity ex-
hibited by certain substances consists
in the spontaneous emission of ra-
diant energy, and was first observed
/ by Bacquerel, in the case of the salts
of the elements uranium The phe-
nomenon was later noted by Schmidt
in the case of the salts of the element
Thorium. Then followed the strik-
ing investigation of NJ and Nine
Curie. which led to the discovery
of two new elements, polonium and
radium, which possesses the property
of radio-activity to a marked degree.
A third element discovered by
Debierne, is also strongly radioactive.
! The existence of another radioactive
element is claimed by Holman, but
very little is known at present of the
| properties of this substance. very
considerable number of ordinary sub
stances Crooks and metals) have also
been found to be very slightly radio
active; but it is as yet doubtful wheth-
er this is due to the properties of
| the simple substances, or to the pre-
! sence OF minute traces OF the strongly
radioactive elements The rays sent
/ ont by radioactive substances are
known as "Becqueral rays" and have
| been shown to be complex in char
acter. In the case of radiations of
radium salts, the rays have been found
to consist of three different types.
differing in the readiness with which
they are absorbed by the matter, and
the extent to which they are de-
Elected in a magnetic field.
When solutions of radium salts are
allowed to stand in a closed vessel it
is found that an extremely minute
quantity OF a highly radioactive gas
gradually accumulates. This gas is
known as the radium emanation, "
its radioactive power falling to about
One-half after four days. The walls
OF a vessel which contained this ra-
dunn emenation also became radio
active, by what is called induced
or excited activity, and the theory is
that by radioactive disintegration of
radium emanation solid has been
deposited on the surface of the walls
which itself is radioactive. This
solid is called "emanation X and its
tate of decay is very rapid. The EN-
anation contained in any solid salt of
dissolving the salt in water and boil.
! ing the solution If the solution is
eyaporated to dryness, the solid salt
radium can be entirely removed and
will again be formed. This freshly
prepared salt is found to be only
about % per cent. as radioactive as
the same salt before the removal Of
| the gas emanatiOn. Its radio-activity,
however, will gradually increase on
standing until at the end of about one
month its activity will have reached
maximum beyond which no further
change will take place. This increase
in the radio-activity of the salt is due
to the production Of fresh quantities
of emanation within it. The action
of the Bacquerel rays may be divided
| into two general classes They pro-
duce a latent image of photo
graphic plate. and they cause gases
through which they pass to become
conductors of electricity. They also
give rise to water supply of New Ha-
ven, Conn, which was also found to
contain a radioactive gas resembling
the radium emauation. Curie and
| Laborde have recently examined the
gases given off at certain European
mineral springs, and also by the wa.
ters of the springs on boiling They
found that the gas obtained from the
Gratonbucker Spring at Bad Gastein.
Austria, was by far the most highly
radioactive of any examined by them.
Very little, if any, radioactive gas was
obtained from water which had stood
! in TASKS for a couple of months, thus
showing that the radio-activity was
not due to radium salts dissolved in
the waters, but by the absorption by
the waters OF radium emanation which
had been formed elsewhere,
In making an examination of the
waters of the Hot Springs Reserya-
ton, the samples were collected at
the Springs, an dplaced in sealed
glass receptacles These were shipped
to New Haven, Conn, where the tests
were conducted The method OF ex-
animation used by Dr. Boltwood was
IN seDaratq the paSee and pmanatiOnS