Phillips County herald., 1922-02-17
Dream Of Scientists for a Thou
sand Years Achieved by
Dr.. Rutherford.
FAR REACHING POSSIBILITIES
Remarkable Result Of Bombardin0 Nj
trosen Gas With the Alpha Rays Of
Radium - May Supply Unlimited
Power.

CtCAHCutS, Tic uTcuHu VI DUtl CuuTih-
tans and scientists for nearly thou
sand years, has actually been accom-
plished by the recent work OF Sir
Ernest Rutherford. and his results are
generally accepted by scientists and
physicists, according to DR.. James
Kendall, associate professor Of chem
istry at Columbia. who said. on the
other hand. that there was not the
slightest reason to believe that the
Germans had accomplished their re-
sorted feat Of making synthetic gold.
Nitrogen. sodium. aluminium. chlor
Inc. oxygen and carbon have been
transmitted. or broken up by Ruther-
ford into hydrogen and hellum, ac-
cording to DR.. Kendall.
This was first accomplished. accord
ing to the claims Of rutherford. by
b"nlbarding nitrogen gas with the al
pha rays OF radium. These sO-called
rays are helium atoms which are flung
out Of the exploding rndium atom with
an energy incOmparnbly greater than
any prOjectile produced artlfcially.
The velocity Of this atom would take
It around the world In slightly less
than second. and the power Of the
exploding atom. In proportion to size.
Is something like a million times
greater than that OF trinitr0tOluOl.
Result Of q Chemical Collision.
The radfum was placed so as to
drive the alpha particles into nitrogen
OAa WItnsp .a1vNbu Wtf nj hOA
head-on collision with nitrogen atom
II tore II to pieces so It is asserted.
The atom supposedly has structure
somewhat resembling the solar sys-
TEN. Its center Is q nucleus Of POSI-
tive electricity. resembling the sun Of
the solar system. and this Is surround.
ed by electrons, or charges OF mega
rive electricity. presumably whlrling
about the nucleus. as the planets whirl
about the sun.
The alpha particle Is believed to
produce such disruption In the atom
as might occur. for instance. II an
other star Of the dimensions Of the
sun tore through our system. hit the
sun directly and drove 1t or into
space. causing the planets to shoot of
In all directions.
This occurs on scale In the neigh
borhood OF the biliionth part OF n
billlonth Of an inch. but It can be
partly measured. The alpha particles
thrown on by radium produce scIn-
tlllnti0ns when thry strike a screen OF
zinc sulphide within certain distance
When they were used to lombard nj
trogen scintillations = took place NJ
greater distances from the radinm
than the alpha particle could alone
produce.
BY his study OF these scintlllations
Dir. Rutherford was able 10 prove to
the satisfaction of men of science gen.
orally that new products were devel-
oped by the shattering Of the nitro
gen atoms ana that these products
were hydrogen and hellum atoms. His
experiments have all been In the way
Of dlsorganizing the more complex
atoms Into simpler ones. The trnns.
mutation OF atoms with simple strnc.
lures Into those with more complex
ones has not been achieved.
Dr.. Kendall on Ruthsrford.
"Rutherford has reduced nitrogen.
aluminium. chlorine and sodium to hy.
drogen and helium." said Dr. Ken
dali. 'IIe has also produced helium
atoms by tearing oxygen and carbon
to pieces. but hydrogen has not re-.
suited. I believe. from the disruption
Of these atoms.
"This Is certainly the transmutatlon
Of elements. but It Is done on nm In.
fnitcly small scale. and II important
ut present only ~ the scientific man.
II does not promise that elements can
be changed from one type TO another.
except on the smallest laboratory
scale. II does not suggest that the
trnnsmuintion OF metals may be de.
yeloped from It."
The possible far.reachins results ~
Ruthcrford's discovery were discussed
MS follows by Professor q. W. Rich.
nrdson In his recent presidential nd.
dress 10 the Section of Mathematics
aud Physics OF thc British association:
'Ruthcrford hns taken the direct
method OF bombnr,llng the nuclei of
the different atoms with the equally
minute high.vclocity helIum nuclei
(nipha pnrtlclcs) given on by radio.
active substances. and examining the
tracks OF any other particles which
mny be generated ns n result Of the
Impact.
Tho amounts of energy which have
been thus fur released by artificial
disintegrntion of the nuclei ARE them.
selves smnli. but they nrc enormous In
comparison with the minute amount
of matter affected.
III these effects cnn be sufficiently
intensified there appears 10 be two
possibilities. Either they will prove
uncomfortable. which would prcsum.
nhiy spell the end of nli things. or
they win not. II they cnn be both In
tcnsificd and controlled. then we shnil
aa~s 40 ans ttstsasot mn aisna-t film.