The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-01-30
or RADIUM
1t May Be the Force Destined to
Destroy the World.
TO DIE IN A BURST OF FLAME.


Later on Put an End to Him and All
His Works In Sea Of Fire.
If we place a thermometer into
phial containing a minute quantity of
radium bromide it will indicate a tenn
perature 81 degrees hotter than the
temperature outside of the phial
What the temperature would be If we
substituted radium for radium bromide
we have no means of knowing, for sci
ence has not as yet produced pure ra-
dunn, although the lay world prefers
to think so. Our closest epproach to
radium so far has been radium bro
mide, which if pure consists roughly of
three-ffths by weight Of the element
radium and two-fifths of the element
bromine.
Turning back to our thermometer. we
also make the discovery that the heat
radiated from our speck of radium
bromide does not grow less as the days
and months may, years and centuries
roll by. The mysterious element con-
tinues to furnish prodigious amounts of
energy. with never a let up or at least
not until it has worked" for $500
years, this being the present calculated
age of radium.
In order to better comprehend what
this means let us compare it with coal.
This is what we find
According to Professor Soddy, a
gram Of pure radium evolves 1873 calo-
ries of heat an hour. In one year
$3.50 hours the same gram of radium
evolves 100000 calories. In $500
years-the length of time radium will
evolve energy 2, 900, 100000 calories
will be developed. Now, one gram Of
coal when burned evolves 200 net
calories Of heat. Consequently the en-
ergy developed by radium is more than
million times that furnished from the
combustion of coal.
Commercial radium salts are at nres-
ent obtained by working the Austrian
pitchblende and lately from the Ameri-
can carnotite found in Colorado. These
are practically the only commercial
sources known today
But radium is by no means as scarce
as most people believe. Radium ema-
nations have been found In springs. in
the air, In rocks, ETC., and this has
given rise to an extraordinary theory
regarding the evolution of the worlds.
When the famous Swiss-Italian Sim
plon tunnel was constructed some years
ago totally unforeseen circumstances
arose which made the work most diff
cult. Although this tunnel is far above
sea level, the heat became uncomfortable
as the work progressed. Artificial cool
ing had to be resorted to in order to al
low the workmen to proceed with their
work. Professor Jolly then made the
astounding discovery that the rocks of
the SimpIon contained radium, which
accounted for the unexpected high tenn
perature within the mountain.
From this Jolly has built up a new
theory Of evolution. and, while revolu-
tionary In the extreme, it Is most plau-
s1ble and gains more adherents each
year.
Lord Kelvin already deduced that IL
the earth contained only two parts of
radium per million million-and a great
deal more is actually found in the
rocks and crust of our globe-this min
ute quantity would raise the tempera-
ture Of the earths core 1900 degrees
O. In 100,000OO0 years. There being no
escape for the imprisoned heat-the
earth's crust being an exceedingly bad
heat conductor Professor Jolly con-.
vinces us that as the ages roll by the
interior of the earth must become hot
ter and hotter. Finally, after the end
OF millions Of millions of years the
crust must give way to this tremen-
dous heat from within and the burst
ing earth must go up in flames, becom-
ing burning gas ball, just as we see
our sun today.
This viii be, the sincandescent age
title suggested by Professor Soddy.
After another ten million years the
tncandescent earth will have expended
all Of its heat into space by radiation
and 1t gradually will cool A new crust
then begins to form anew. This is
what we see at present on the planets
Jupiter and Saturn, worlds just begin
ming to cool after emerging from their
incandescent age.
Thus we find that worlds do not die.
They slowly pass from one stage to
another, in long and interminable
cycle. 1t is more than probable from
the above that the earth must have
passed many times through this cycle.
Probably every fime fha World want
up in flames man was at his highest
point Of civilization, infinitely further
advanced than we are today In an
instant every living soul had persisted,
and for millions Of years his like was
not to tread again on the hardened
earth crust
This is the new and greater gospel
of radium. the element which viii
emancipate man and which will de-
stroy him and his all later.-H. Germs
bach in Electrical Experimenter.