STRANGE POWER
OF RADIUM
, , !
Nearly everything known about ra
dium and its emanations was Mummed '
up hy Sir Wiliiani Uanisay before the
An hots' Club in London not long ago. .
S aining with a definition of the terms
cot cent ration ard energy, he traced
briefly the discovery of radium by Mme.
Curie and the methodsof its extraction
from uranium ores. Becquerel, he said,
found thaf there are three different
kinds of rays given out from radium.
First there are rays which can be easily
kept in a brass tube, which are known
as Alpha rays. Then come a second
kind, called Beta rays, which can pass
through glass: they are the same as
the cathode rays of Lenard. The third
kind, or Gamma rays, are very pene
trating and appear to have some anal
ogy to light, but unlike light they can
pass through nontransparent sub
stances. These rays can pass through
about six inches of lead, and possess
the power of discharging an electro
scope. Lead, in fact, is moderately
transparent to the Gamma rays. It is
not quite clear whether the word ray
is applicable to these emanations, as
there is a doubt as to whether they are
really given off or are simply undula
tions or waves in the ether.
To his mind the Alpha and Beta rays
are something like minute particles
shot out from the radium, whereas the
Gamma rays correspond more to waves
in the medium which surrounds us,
termed ether. As to the Alpha rays.
Prof. Rutherford was the first to point
out that these were due to a gas, but a
similar observation was made by a
German, Dr. Schmidt, in connection
with thorium, another element discov
ered by the speaker to be capable of
discharging the electroscope when
placed near it.
The fact remains that radium is con
tinually giving out gas. That is why
the Alpha rays can get out of a vessel
containing radium. The Beta rays are
also particles, smaller than the Alpha
rays and traveling at an enormous ve
locity. The Gamma rays are not par
ticles at all, but waves or undulations
in the ether. These latter rays are
still being investigated.
It is possible in some degree by
means of calculation to measure the
wars of the particles of the Alpha and
Beta rays. Prof. Rutherford and Sir
J. J. Thomson found that while the
Alpha particles—that is, the gas which
escapes from radium—have a very con
siderable mass, something of about
twice that of an atom of hydrogen: the
mass of the Beta particle is exceed
ingly small, and is only equal to about
une-ihousandlh of the mass of a hydro
gen atom.
The Beta rays are being investigated
and it has been found that they play an
important part in the composition of
matter. If matter is not made up of
Beta particles revolving around each |
other like the planets of the solar sys
tem these particles are revolving
around something or other, or, accord
ing to Sir J. J. Thompson, like small
suns or piauets revolving around each
other. Returning to the Alpha parti
cles, Sir William proceeded to say that
when radium emits these particles it
loses energy. It is always losing en
ergy and it cannot be stopped from do
ing that. It is true the loss goes on
very slowly and it is an interesting
question how long it would take to
emit all the Alpha particles it contains.
The first question is: What are these
Alpha particles? The secend is: Into
what does radium change after emit
ting these particles? The third ques
tion is: How long does it take to un
dergo these changes?
The first change appears to be into
this gas—the so-called Alpha rays.
Quite two thirds of the energy of the
radium is transferred to the gas which]
it gives off. This raises the question
cl the transmutation of an element. It
was long believed to be possible to
change one element into another, and
Sir William was not going to throw
cold water on the ancient alchemists,
because it is possible by the addition of
small quantities of certain substances
to change altogether the appearance
of certain metals; and by the addition
of a very small quantity of yeast a
large quantity of sugar into alcohol.
These are changes of an alchemisiic
nature, and radium goes on continually
doing what the alchemists of old tried
to do when they attempted to change
various elements into giAl or silver.
Prof. Rutherford had given the name
of emanations to the rays given off by
radium because he did not recognize
them as gases, but it really is ordinary
gas, or rather quite an extraordinary
gas. It comes off radium at a regular
! rate, and that brings on the question,
How long will radium last? His an
swer is, forever.
The amount of gas is always pro
portionate to the amount of radium
present. Suppose a slice of bread were
cut in two, taking a minute to do it,
and then the half were cut in two
again, and so on continually, how long
would it take to cut the bread entirely
up? The halving would go on to in
finity and the operation would take an
eternity to perform. That is the case
with radium. The amount of gas pro
duced is always proportionate to the
amount of radium there and it is al
ways being produced.
When would radium be half gone?
They had just measured it in Sir
William’s laboratory, and it would
take 1,750 years, so that if any one in
vested in radium he would retain at
least half his capital at the end of
1,750 years.
The Austrian government some time
ago entrusted Sir William with half a
gramme, or a fifty-fifth ef an ounce, of
radium for private use. Its value is
about $45,000. Dr. Gray and himself
had performed the experiment of iso
lating the Alpha emanation of radium,
and they enclosed it in a fine glass
tube—much finer than the finest ther
mometer tube that ever was made.
They compressed it and liquefied it.
When liquefied it shone with a pur
plish light, though it was quite trans
parent, like water. It shone with a
light of its own. When reduced to a
temperature of minus 60 centigrade it
solidified, and then it glowed with an
extremely brilliant light like a minia
ture arcliglit. The quantity they had
was extremely small, but they ascer
tained its boiling point, its melting
point and its specific gravity, and all
this was done with a smaller quantity
than the point of ihe finest need'e. Of
course they used a microscope.
This substance is the most concen
trated form of energy known. It is a
substance which goes on changing into
other things, to which various names
are given. These substances are named
radium A, radium B, radium C, and so
on up to radium F. Some of them have
a very short existence, lasting only a
half or three quarters of an hour, and
he had never seen them. He had seen
radium D, a substance which would bo
gone in about forty years. That gave
one time to look at it. It is rather
dull looking, like lead, and that was
nearly all he could tell them about it.
There are other substances, probably
like the polonium discovered by Mine.
Curie.
During these emanations radium
gives a great deal of energy, generally
manifested as light, but as a matter of
fact radium keeps itself hot. There is
a great deal of heat generated. It can
be calculated, and it is found that it
gives off about 3,500,000 as much heat
as would be given off by the oxyhy- j
drogen blowpipe, which gives a tem-j
perature of over 2,000 degrees centi
grade. There, surely, is the greatest
concentration of energy ever known.
What does this energy do? It sends
out the Alpha rays at a velocity of j
about 40,000 miles a second, and these
particles naturally carry a great ileal j
of energy. The Beta rays, although ;
only about one-thousandth the size,also j
carry great energy, owing to their!
enormous velocity, which is still higher !
than the Alpha rays. Plenty of things
can be done with this energy. With
it they can decompose water and me
tallic substances, and in these decom
positions elements are produced which
formerly were not imagined to exist in
the substances so treated. The experi
ments are still going on.
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Additional Entry
Under Section 2,'KW5 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States.
APPLICATION.
United States Land Office,
Fairbanks, Alaska. March 30. 1910.
Northern Commercial Company, a ■
corporation incorporated under the
laws of the State of New Jersey, as
signee of John K. Allen, William R.
Hess, Zachuriuh Johnston Jr., Joseph
B. Deaton and Morris P. Jolley, being
entitled to the benefits of Section 2300
of the Revised Statutes of the United
States, granting additional lands to sol-1
diers and sailors who served in the Re-!
hellion, does hereby apply to enter U.
S. Survey No. 739, situate on the north
side of the Yukon river, near the town
of Tanana, about one-half mile east of
Weare (Tanana) postoffice. Alaska,
more particularly described as follows,
to-wit:
Beginning at corner No. 1 on the
north bank of the Yukon river, whence
witness corner No. 1 a stone 20x12x7
inches, set Hush with the ground,
marked "S-739,” bears north 40 links,
from which witness corner United
States location monument No. 739.
hears south 80 deg. 27 min. east 32.18
chains distant: thence north 74 deg. 53
i min. west 10.69 ciiains to corner No. 2.
whence coiner No. 2 of survey No. 250
bears north 79 deg. 19 min. west 20
chains distant, and witness corner No.
2 bears north 40 links: thence north
3-92 chains to corner No. 3 whence wit
ness corner No. 3 bears cast 05 links:
thence east 10.35 chains to corner No. 4;
thence soutli 6.71 chains to corner No.
; 1, tlie place of beginning, containing
5.49 acres. Magnetic variation 28 deg.
30 min. east.— '-fir ,
as additional to their original home
steads, respectively:
John R. Allen, as additional to orig
inal homestead entry No. (1903, at
Bonneville. Mo., dated October 21,1809,
containing 38.10 acres.
Wm. R. Hess, as additional to original
homestead entry on the west one-half
of the southwest quarter of section 1, in
township 20 north, range 5 west, en
tered April 3. 1872, per homestead No.
4028, and final proof No. 1157. at the
Ironton, Mo.. United States land office.
Zachariah Johnston. Jr., as additional
to original homestead entry No. 43 at
North Platte, Nebraska, dated July 7,
1873, containing 139.90 acres.
Joseph B. Deaton, as additional to
original homestead entry No. 308, at
Jronton, Mo., dated June 10. 1800, con
taining 135.38 acres.
Morris P. Jolley, as additional to
original homestead No. 5412, at Junc
tion Citv, Kansas, dated Februarv 10,
1870.
Notice is hereby given that any and
all persons claiming any portion of the
above-described land are required to
file a protest during the period of pub
lication or thirty days thereafter, in ac
cordance with law, with the Register
and Receiver of the V. S. land office at
Juneau. Alaska.
NORTHKRN COMMKRC.'TAL COM
PANY, by Geo. J. Mir.r.F.it.
Attorney-in-fact.
Notice of the above will be published ]
in the Tatiana l eader, printed at Tan
ana, Alaska, which i hereby designate]
as the newspaper published nearest the,
land described in said application.
E. H. MACK,
Register U. S. Rand Office. Fairbanks.
Date of first publication. April 7.1910.
Date of last publication. June 2. 1910.
Notice of Forfeiture
To T. J. Wilson. Roy R. Henderson.
Alfred Place, J. C. .Tunkin, Chris S.
Hillstead, O. A. Lavmon and C. II.
Hull:
You and each of you are hereby no-:
tiiied that I have expended the sum of j
one hundred (100) dollars in labor and;
improvement, for each year, for the ;
year 1908 and the year 1909, upon the!
following placer mining claim, to wit:j
The First Chance Association Placer'
claim, situated and being on Golden!
creeK. a tributary of Illinois creek, ini
the Fort Gibbon Mining and Recording !
Precinct, Territory of Alaska.
Said work and improvefcant was done:
under the provisions of section 2.124 of1
the Revised Statutes of the United!
States, being the amount required by I
said section 2124 to hold said claim for;
the years 1908 and 1909; also that proof;
of the annual assessment work was j
Hied under chapter 2119. entitled “An j
act to amend the laws governing labor!
or improvements upon mining claims
in Alaska,” approved March 2, 1907;
and that if within ninety days after
lilt; last publication of this notice you
fail or refuse to contribute your pro
portion of such expenditure, for »aid
years, as co-owner in said placer min
[ ing claim, your interest in said claim
j will become the property of the under
■ signed under said section 2324.
Dated at Tanana, Fort Gibbon Pre
cinct, Alaska. March 10, 1910.
S. F. MCD ILL.
Date of 1st publication, March 10, 1910.
Date of last publication, June 10, 1910.
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