The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-07-27
@ U e RIES
NOTICE TO INMATES

NOTICE TO INMATES
Rnnity that their
Ing ;an Night
with be privileged the Query
% sad H
~-~~~~~~~~~~->~e.-~~~~~
..s Sign with initials and register number
NOTICEIn order regulate conduct of this column
mates must their register number and lock number
to all queries submitted for publication Inmates Names of
will not be published only the initials of each querst
being used (Ed)
OWL you kindly describe what radium and radioac
vty is?
A-The marvels of radium may be said to have been
less foehadowed by the discovery the Roentgen
1t Immediately determined the emanations of
Crooke tube were not ethereal fluctuations such ordinary
light but that they consisted actual material particles of
matter highly charged with electricity. Naturally attempt
was made to discover whether the phenomena of phophoe
cent substance not akin those of the Crooks tube The
leading spirit in this Professor Henri Becquee
who selected the metal uranium the subject his expert
ments He accidentally discovered that the ocaed phosore
cent attributes of uranium absorption
gh but that the substance spontaneously active and that
the light which came from radum kind of
ton entirely different from Xays. To these radaons
the name "Becquere Rays was gven
Uranium obtained from pitchblende more
widely distributed through the world but found chiefly Bo
hemia and in Cornwall Madame Curie, who at the time
Becquerel making his investigations senior student
at the Municipal School OF Physics and Technical Chemistry
in Paris, had selected Rado Activity name which
coned-as the subject of her Doctors thesis Naturally
necessary for her study uranium and similar
She found that after having extracted all the
ium contained in her specimen of pchbende, there still
NAMED Ill the residue substance far active than uranium
After isoang this unknown radiant substance and Analysing
it, she found that it contained elements The she
chrsened 'poonum," after land her birth; the other
she named "radium''
Several tons of ptchbende be concentrated before
few grains of radum obtained But those few grains
worth more than precious gem metal in the world. In
deed they have almost any value which their fortunate
choose to give them. There probably pounds
of adium in exence but the market price
they would be worth each the very least several million dol
lars There is gold in than radum in pitch
bende; and that is why its price is so high.
The properties of radium will probably necessae decid
ed revision time honoed chemical theories for radum
refuses conform long established atomic theories and
behaves in most nexpcabe fashion, In the first place the
radoacvy of the element has been found of three
distinct sets of emanaons which have been chrsened the
Alpha, the Beta and the Gamma for of better
The Alpha rays like ordinary light ethereal pulsa
tions but actual material PARTICLES hurled off the of TO-
600 miles second from the They highly
charged with positive electricity Their speed about 49, 900
times greater than that of rifle bullet.
The Beta rays which consist of PARTICLES of matter,
pusces of electricity eectrons' modern physicist
calls them still swiftly Each of the Beta particles
Every much smaller in size than the Alpha partces travels
the of about 1O0 900 miles second They
moving objects the unverse for their speed three hundred
times faster than that of the sws Such is their veloc
ty that it takes foot of solid iron stop them.
The Gamma rays probably Roentgen rays if one may
judge by the similarity of the properties of the Like the
Beta rays the Gamma remarkable penetrating
properties But of kinds rays discharged by
dunn, the Gamma the difficult detect and the
least perfectly MISUNDERSTANDING American.