The mirror., 1922-03-02
RADIUM
CONTINUED from page y


possible to overcharge water by any
method known to science today. Drink
ing such water cannot do any harm.
"Radium bromide, which is the chemical
name for one of the varieties of so-called
pure radium, can cause severe burns. The
Alpha rays are exceedingly strong. But
we have found out enough to know that
Alpha rays in the right proportions cause
tissues to grow and increase their vitality.
The Beta rays are germicidal and have
greater penetrative power. The Gamma
rays can pierce a sheet of lead an inch
thick"
"Mr. Hoover, if what you say is true,
the people who now carry buckeye for
rheumatism can throw it away and keep a
little chunk of radium ore for the same
purpose. If l understand you correctly
there would be enough emanation from
piece of rock to tone up fellows system"
"Well, / wouldn't 60 so far as to say
that, though one of our journals did men
ton the case of man who picked up
queer rock and put it in his pocket as a
curiosity. He almost forgot about it, but
some time later he was troubled by some
severe burns that notified him that it was
no ordinary rock. Later, he sold it for
$4,000. Before you could carry a piece
of ore to advantage you would have to be
sure it emitted any rays at all and then,
if so, what kind those rays WERE"
"How do you detect the presence of
radio activity in mineral and how can
you tell which kinds of rays are being
emanated?" l inquired.
"We use very simple but highly sensi-
tive instrument called the electroscope. 1t
is metal box with two thin gold leaves
suspended in it. These leaves project at
an angle from each other like the crotch
of boys sling shot. If you put radio
active substance in the box the air is
ionized, causing the leaves to close in on
one another like ducks BILL The time
required for this closing-in movement is
measured and calculations are made which
tell the amount of radio-activity present.
"By using screens beginning with thin
aluminium foil and progressively adding
layer upon layer, the Alpha rays are first
screened off, then the Beta rays and finally
by using lead screen, the Gamma rays.
"To show you how sensitive the electro
scope is, / can tell you an experience /
once had. was working with some mixed
radium salts and had trapped some
emanations in tiny glass tube which l
sealed off with gas flame. Later broke
this tube in an electroscope. It not only
discharged my scope but put out of COM
mission every other scope in the large
room. The emanations persisted for four
days and all the instruments were unfit
for experimentation during that time. A
thousandth part of the emanation obtain
able from gram of radium if mixed
with the air Of large hall or auditorium
would be strong enough to incapacitate
these delicate instruments. The amount of
radio-activity in single cubic foot of air
of that hall could be detected by an elec-
troscope.
''Radium is obtained from kernotite ore
found widely in the United States and
monozite sands also existing in large
quantities in this country and Brazil. The
pitchblende of Bohemia is particularly rich
in radium."
l asked Mr.. Hoover how radium was
found in the field, how prospectors would
know radium-bearing ore.
"You can carry an electroscope in suit
case," he answered, "and when you find a
rock you want to test you simply place it
in the scope. Then you can soon tell if it
is radium-bearing. BY making COMPARE
sons with the standards in a handbook,