The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-12-05
BY Garrett p. Seryiss.
Voted Astronomer and Writer on
Scientific Topics Of Popular
Interest.


Noted Astronomer and Writer on
Scientific Topics Of Popular
Interest.
nERHAPS the most extra-ordi-
Il nary of the many recent dis
coveries in the physics Of the
earth and the universe is that an
nounced by Doctor r. A. Millikan
concerning the existence OF mys-
terious rays Of astonishing pen
ertrative power which come in
upon the earth equally by night
and by day, from all directions.
and which seem to originate from
atomic transformations going on
throughout surrounding space.
The energy involved in the
formation of these strange rays Is
believed to be fifty times greater
than that which produces the
most intense radioactive trans
formations hitherto known.
These rays do not come from
the sun; they are not visible; they
are only detected by their electric
action; they consist of waves prob
ably ten million times shorter than
those Of light and their frequency
of vibration is so enormous that
they are capable OF passing
through six feet Of solid lead, while
the most penetrating rays that
we produce in our hospitals can
not go through half an inch OF
lead"
They come upon the earth
from all sides, certainly not
whit more plentifully from the d.
rection Of the sun than from that
Numerically opposite to 1t"
Penetrating Radiation
How do they effect us? We do
not know-they have only just
been discovered. Evidently, then
they have not been doing Us any
harm of which we are aware.
The story Of their discovery has
the fascination of all sudden
glimpses into the unknown AMI
mysterious. AS long as twenty
years ago physicists became aware
Of what was called penetrating
radiation" which caused electric
ity to leak from charged electro.
scopes enclosed in metallic cham
bers. 1t was thought that this
came from radioactive substances
in the earth.
But a year or two before the
war some German physicists
found by balloon experiments
that the penetrating radiation"
was more abundant at high al
titudes than at the surface of the
earth. The discovery languished
during the war, but in 1922 Doctor
Millikan sent up sounding bal
looms in Texas carrying delicate
recording instruments, one to a
height of about ten miles. These
experiments proved conclusive
Iy" that the strange radiation
was stronger aloft than below.
In 1928 the experiments were
transferred to Pixies Peak, and
there soft" rays of local origin
were encountered, which were
twice as intense as near sea level
at Pasadena. The problem then
was to account for the increased
abundance of the soft" rays
while trying to settle definitely
the question of the existence OF
"a small, very penetrating radia-
ton Of cosmic origin"
The upshot was that the in
crease Of the soft" rays on the
Peak was ascribed to a partial
transformation of the mysterious
cosmic rays on striking the noun
tain, no other cause being ap-
parent.
COsmic Rays
The method used to determine
the penetrating power of the
strange rays involved measure
ment of their absorption by
water, and for this purpose 1t
was necessary to have water I'M
contaminated by seepage through
radioactive material in the sur
rounding ground and rocks. The