The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-06-28
NEW ELEMENT IN
THE SAFETY MOVEMENT

Radium, the most mysterious and
powerful element known to science,
which has the greatest power of all
discovered sources of energy, has now
been linked with the safety movement
and will lend it's power to the preven-
ton of avoidable accidents. So great
is it's power that one gram is sufficient
to raise ton of water from the
freezing to the boiling point. If one
ton of it were harnessed to ship
equipped with 1,500 H. P. engines,
the ship would be propelled at the
rate of Is knots an hour for thirty
years.
Radium is best known to the world
through its curative properties in the
treatment of cancer and through its
commercial value in making radium
luminous material. The power of
radium was made known only few
years ago through the efforts of a
Polish woman scientist, and French
and American professor. Radium
now treats thousands of cases Of can
Ger annually, preventing death and
eliminating great deal of suffering.
Radium's role in industry as life
saver is less spectacular, but per-
haps even more important, than it is
as therapeutic agent. The great
mass of accidents in factories, in
mines and in other industrial institu
:tions where darkness is a creator Of
danger, are being eliminated through
the newest invention Of science-ra-
dunn luminous material. Radium IL
Illuminated watches are familiar arti-
cles. The same material that illumi
mates these is now being employed in
great factories on all power line
switches where funnbling might mean
elecsrocution to the operator.
High pressure gauges, which are in
stalled as an Insurance against dan
ger, are deprived of great deal of
their safety value through inconsist
ent lighting. Their dependabilitw as
indicators is increased tremendously
through making them safe twenty
four hours day by the application of
radium luminous material, which is!
invariably luminous in the dark.
Steam gauges and water gauges of
all sorts are making use of radium
to increase safety.
Likewise, a fire alarm or fire ex-
tinguisher is deprived of good deal
of its efficiency through being invis-!
ible in the dark. Radiumluminous
material acts as quick locator for
them. Telephones, which are often
necessarily found quickly in the dark
in emergencies, various emergency
call bells, and revolvers, are made
more useful through the application
of undark. Guns sights, Illuminated,
insure accuracy of aim in the dark.
The need of Illuminating poison bot
ties, so that they may stand out warn
ingly in the dark, has been demon
strated too often to need further
dwelling on. An interesting safety
device is the safe combination whose
dial is radium illuminated, so that no
artificial light need be used for it.
The industrious uses Of radium lu-
mincus material are many. Bolts,
that are necessarily attached to the
dark undercourses of machines and
equipment, are being touched with
dabs of this luminous material with
consequent great saving Of bloodshed.
In mines, where the carrying of oil
lamps or the placing of electric light
ing equipments is not feasible, radi-
um has been found to be boon to
humanity. There are dark corners in
the dark underground channels which
miners must traverse, corners where
danger lurks-these are made safe
through the unvarying luminosity of
radium.
The value of radium to mariners is
commencing to be recognized. Not
only the compass dials, but the steer
ing wheel, the gauges, and other in
struments which would be instantly
and interrdptedly visible have been
touched with radium. Motorists and
motorcyclists, and the operators of
any machinery which has indicating
dials or guages which tell of the
speed of the motor ir the quantity
and mixture of fuels and oils, are
finding the solution of their Difficult
ties in radium luminous material.
The hazard of uncertainty has been
reduced.