The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-08-24
EARTH NOT
 COOLING OFF
Mme. Curie Denies Truth of Time-Honored Theory-Radium Emanations
 As Proof

1 We have, indeed, seen that radio- | active substances such as radium are | throughout the whole earth's crust | These quantities may be measured by | electrometric methods In this way
 it can be established that the evolu- l tion of heat that must be attributed
 to these substances is considerable. | "Calorimetric measurements have
 shown that radium evolves a quantity | of heat sufficient to dissolve more | than it's own weight of ice in an hour. This amount of heat, numeric-
 ally expressed, is equal to 1855 caaIor- ies per gram of radium per hour. | Calculating Earth's Heat.
 ''The heat evolved by radfum in the | earth's crust can be calculated. On the
 other hand, we know the amount of heat given off by the earth into space
 which can be calculated from the in | crease in temperature of the earth at different levels and the therInic con- ductvity of the superficial rocks. It
 is found by comparing the two fig l ures that the radio-elements scattered throughout the earth's crust are pres ent in more than sufficient quantities to compensate for the loss of heat by radiation, so that the quantity of heat
 evolved is greater than that lost by
 the earth.
 Up to the present it has been be- ieved that the earth has been con- stantly cooling since the time of it's
 qualification. The study of radio
 elements teaches us, on the contrary,
 that only is it not certain that the
 earth is cooling, but that it is even
 possible that it is in state of warm
 ing up, and this changes our opinions
 on the evolution of the terrestrial
 gIobe.''
 Mime. Curie says that radium pro-
 duces a radioactive gas which has re-
 ceived the name of radium emanation.
 This emanation is evolved from the
 radium and spreads throughout its neighborhood.
 ,, Under these circumstances" she
 continues, Eff one breathes the air in the neighborhood of radium, one also
 inhales air containing the emanation ; which possesses all the properties of , radioactive bodies. It enaits a radia-
 tion which ionizes the air and which
 excites beautiful phosphorescence in , zinc sulf1d. This radioactive gas is :, not stable; it is not durable like r radium. If it's activity is measured.
 it will be found to diminish in a reg ular manner, almost by one-half in a period of four days. The diminution has thus taken place according to f geometrical progression, or according
 to an exponentia1 law, the intensity ', of the radiation being expressed as a function of the time fy an exponent ial formula. Every diTninutIon by one-ha1f always occurs in a constant ;, space of time, and this time has re-
 ceived the name of the characteristic @ period of the substance. r 'fWhen these emanations are intro n | duced into the vessels which serve to a receive them, it is perceived that they . | themselves produce something which . survives them. Each of them leaves
 on the walls of the vessel a sort of in- !, visible coating which behaves like a n radioactive body. It seems ii s there remained a radio -atc1ve Sub- > stance attached to the walls of the a vessel even after removing the s emanation which was contained there, l. in by a current of air.
 e No Stable Elements.
 ,- These active dcpots of the emana Jr-, ,- peculiar to each one of them Int e active depot of radium emanation dis It appears in several hours, whereai e that of thorium emanation persist
 for several days.
 All the phenomena of this typ IS may be explained by general theor. S. called the theory of the radio -activ 8, us that none among the radio-ele 1- ments is stable. and that they al 2 change, even those which to us seen le fixed because their transformation i m slow Thus. we say that radium al transformed into the emanatior h which, in it's turn. is transformed int er If one takes into account tn le evolution of heat that is constantl A taking place from radium, the amour ly of energy thus progressively accumu is lated assumes considerable propor of tions. Besides, the period of radiur
 is approximately known; it is know to that the substance diminishes by one S. nall us mass Tn aOOut l,oUO years of and it can, therefore, be calculate a how much heat it will give forth dur
 ing its entire life. The amount o O. calculated energy given off is so grea a. that it cannot be explained by a 1e ordinary chemical reaction. On tn be other hand. it is easily explained b u- atomic transformation, an assumptio m that nowadays we make with abso n- 1ute certainty.
 n. Thus each radio-activity substanc he has it's own characteristic period o n- transformation. However, this doe a not affect all the atoms at the sam al time; for, if this were the case. tn 1g substance would become progressive n ly changed and would not always b It equal to itself. On the other hanc mt when radiun undergoes transforma he tion it always remains radium, onl
 thera is less and lass of it. Only cn