Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1921-08-19
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cesSive fractional cryStallizatlOnS OF
the radium chloride and, at a later
stage, of the bromide, most OF the
radium is obtained in a salt contain
ing over 90 per cent of pure radlum
bromide. By still further chemical
treatment the bromide is converted
into the sulphate or the chloride, anu
in the therapeutic use of radium these
two salts find the largest use."
Nine. Curie, several years ago by
general request, fixed an international
radium standard. This is deposited
in Paris and the leading cities OF the
world have replicas Of it. SO now
radium preparations are measured Dy
comparing the electrical energy car
ried by their gamma rays with that
of the international standard. While
radium has still many mysteries, it
may be said for the benefit OF the
general public that its energy appears
to be given off in three rays, when
are known as the Alpha, Beta anu
Gamma rays. 1t is stated that the
Alpha and Beta rays are electrical
and that the Gamma ray is rather
vibration than a ray. The Alpha ray
is believed to comprise So per cent
of radium's activity; it travels with
about the speed of light and has no
penetrative power. The Beta ray is
about 10 per cent Of the activity,
travels with about 1-15 the speed of
light and can penetrate about an 1nch
ard one-fifth of lead. The Gamma
ray can penetrate more than three
inches of lead; when it strikes hard
substance it breaks up into two rays
corresponding to the Alpha and Beta
rays.
1t is the Gamma ray that is used
in bloodless surgery The Alpha ray
does not burn. The Beta ray is kept
from the patient by screen that alb
serbs it. The Gamma ray seems to
have the peculiar quality of picking
out useless or harmful tissues for it's
first attack; it will harm useful It's
sues only after harmful tissues have
been burnt away or dissolved. Radi-
una is handled in glass tubes incased
in lead containers. Those who handle
it constantly usually get pretty badly
burned sooner or later. Flesh burned
oy radium cannot be healed; it simply
disappears and is gone. One of Nine.
Curie's hands has been affected and
her general health has been under
mined by intensive wartime work with
radium.
oil
thimbleful It's current price is S12O,-
600. A gram is divided into a thOus-
and parts, each of which is called
milligram and sells for $120 Physi-
clans who use it have from so to $50
miligrams. The state of New York
has recently purchased 2A grams for
use in the treatment of cancer.
With radium worth $4,000 a thin
hleful, how is it that the dials of even
cheap watches can be made luminous
by its use? It's this way: The fum-
inous material on the dial is COM
bination of most minute portion of
real radium and special zinc sui
phide. These atoms are SO small that
it would take hundreds of millions
of them to cover an inch. As each
atom explodes, projectile too small
TO be seen under a microscope flies off
and strikes a crystal of the zinc OK
ide. The heat generated by the Inn
pact makes a flash visible to the eye.
AS these explosions occur at the rate
of about 100000 a second on the watch
dial, their combined flashes make the
dial luminous.