Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-03-08
GETTING TO BOTTOM or
SCIENTIFIC MATTERS
Must Be IN Position to Understand
Fundamentally Important
Things Going 90.
bl GARRETT L. sERyIss.


There is no getting away froiu it;
u you do not make yourstif familiar
With 1t least The general conceptions
Of science concerning the nature OF
atoms you cannot bc IN Il position TO
understand the most Fundamentally i'm
por;ant things that are going on IN the
world at this time.
Iuainted with Alpha partictes' and
"Geta PARTICLES" that you will know
No less ain authority than Professor
Frederick Soddy. OF oxford University.
one Of the first investigators Of the
amazing phenomena OF ra1io-activlt:,
has iust asserted that TO turn mercury
MT" gold All that would have to DO done
Is first TO eSpei srom each mercury
in.Tcnry Will become thal!iu:n: then ~
eSpei from each thaliicn,. atom one
thsii!uin Into gold. II /. is iead that
You w'ish TO change into gold YOU can
first turn lead into mercury by expell-
cced through the thallinIn stage to gold
.,S before. The rcoson for not begin
iiinfs lsltl, thalliun itself appears to be
round free in nature
Now, who is there with soul so dead
mysterious PARTICLES arc. and how il
happens that the presence or absence
Of ono Of them l., En- atom can make
precious S0d. aud IN what way It is.
or you'd be. possible 10 drive theTn IN
and OUT OF arobis. 90 AZ 90 have tho
old *or!d from the bottom up? IT
,leedn't be the millionaire instinct that
draws ~ you t9 .h,T; i w NH So better II
conscious possession OF power. Tor
knowledge itsc.i is power.
What then. docs Professor Soddy-
iucan by tnc expulsion of aIpha- parti-
glcs and bot q particles and What have
they 90, to do with ehenEins tho ma
lure OF atoms:
3, is now kno":n that atoms. instead
- being indivts!hie particles. as VIC
warE tauzht in our youth. arc made UP
III much smaller parttctcf. or compon-
cGts called oiactrons
Fhcy ore regarded as consisting only
~ charges OF negative electricity.
'tr, Is electrical ia It's nature. But. i'll
sdlition to the neyotive electrons. there
Is believed 20 be in each atom another
lind q particle, carrying. or consist,
bG Of, Il charge OF positive electricity.
and this particle il called .Mc nucleus.
;.nd the eleetTons are figured as re-
i;c!as consist or the element hc!iu!n
when Eicctron< Fly.
Now. "hc.a the atoms OF Z; substance
or and form "beia-rays." which consist
o. streams OF negative oicctrong, and
heta particles. pu, from the breaking
atoms there also proceed "aipha-rays."
which consist Of ssrennls OF The helium
,icles.
Since tho taking of an alpha o.
beta particle from tho atoms OF one
Itind OF elementary substance may
c1anSe IL into another kind OF clcmen-
'aEy substance, NE see that the differ
cpcc between such things az gold and
lead or mercury is not final. or fun
camental difference. but Is difference
Depending only upon the PROPORTIONS
in which The really elementary things.
VIZ, the positive and negative charge.
or IN" beta, and alpha Particles. are
i.unpcr OF ono or the other you upse,
The atom to such a degree tha. the
chemical aud physical, properties by
~hich VIC rccognizc the particular sub
arc moro or less compictciy altered.
Considering Chemistry.
This is going ono step back OF tho
old chemistry. which could build IN
no, Interfere with things inside the
atom. Molecules are composed of atoms,
ara different kinds of atoms can b.
chsn,ical forccs be put together 10 form
"n*rs and rccomhincd 20 make still
other compounds. Now, n"turc shows
iis that II ia possible 20 do something
Simiia. with tho constituents o! Tho
soem!nS miracle OF turning one c!cIncn-
tarN substance into another. Such
performance would have been miracle
il atoms had been what they were for
Ins.ly supposed 20 be, but now Il would
he only 4 scientific ieat
Professor Soddy does not say tina. l,c
las actually made gold out OF mercury
or lead. lie has only taken .soma. OF
aud on The LASTS OF what he already
knows he has OWNED some OF the other
steps. Everybody can holp him q little
oy learning the :. L: 9 Of This mar