Show Science Like Law v Has Own Bureau of Missing Persons Hunt Is On Now Nv for Long Lost t Parents of Actinium I Rochester N. N Y The The police police police po po- po- po lice may have their missing persons bureaus who hunt for the Charley Rosses and Judge Craters of the world but science too has similar mysteries and none so famous famous famous fa fa- fa- fa as the missing parents parents parents par par- of the element actinium From heaviest of all elements uranium down through r radium d um to lead the atoms undergo a step by step disintegration and begat order order order or or- orI I der that reads like a scientific old testament Just as there is a missing link linkin in the hypothesis of animal evolution evolution evolution tion between the apes and modern man so too is there a theoretical stone out of place In the structure which welds the whole of ot radioactivity ity theory into a compact unit now How Lost Arc Are Traced In a report to the American Phys Phys- ical society Prof Prot T T. R. R Wilkins and Dr W. W M. M Ray Rayton ton of at the University of Rochester present new evidence which helps make clearer the origIns origins ori ori- gins of the missing long lived parents parents par par- eats of the actinium series of ot radio radio- elements Scientific happenings which make it possible to throw light on the atomic missing persons problem are that sometimes the ch change from one clement element to another is accompanied accompanied accompanied by a loss of weight and sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times merely by a loss of ot electrical charge without the weight loss The loss of at weight occurs when I the nucleus of a helium atom known as an In alpha particle is liberated lib- lib crated in the radioactive tion Then the parent a atom tom drops down two whole numbers in the numerical scale which rates chemical chemical chem chem- ical element clement from hydrogen at atone atone atone one to uranium at 92 When V electricity is given off by bythe bythe bythe the emission of an electron the atomic number of at the element jumps back up the scale by one unit Thus Uranium I 92 gives of off I Ian an alpha particle and becomes UranIum Uranium Uranium Ura Ura- X XI 90 But Uranium X XI gives off ofT an electron and becomes Uranium X with atomic number 91 Radium Best Known Thus in stepwise fashion but sometimes up and sometimes down the scale of atomic numbers go the disintegrations of the heavy radioactive radioactive radioactive radio radio- active elements clements of which the best known is perhaps radium with atomic number 88 Common gray and soft lead are Ire the final offspring of all these spontaneous changes and there are arc four different kinds of lead radium lead thorium lead actinium lead and just jus lead The radi radium thorium and actinium here mean that it is lead which had each of these specific origins Plain lead merely means that scientists cannot cannot cannot can can- not specifically fix its origin The ability of the radioactive atoms to lose or take on weight at various stages means mems that there will frequently be two or more varieties all having the same chemical properties properties properties prop prop- but slightly different m masses even though they Uley may have the same atomic number rating Thus Uranium X XI and Ind its three isotopes as s they are arc known all have atomic weight of One has an atomic number of 90 another is number 92 02 and two are number 91 While chemical methods are not sufficiently exact to permit distinguishing distinguishing distinguishing distin distin- between all these v varieties other methods and in particular the range with which alpha particles are emitted serve as experimental checks Drs Wilkins and R Rayton have studied the alpha particle ranges as their method in seeking actinium's lost parent The investigation also also also al al- al- al so throws much needed light on the thew w way y alpha particles are arc emitted from the nucleus of at atoms a problem problem lem which has bearing on the much- much studied and important field of the constitution of the inner cores of ofa a atoms toms Details of the methods used will ill interest scientists but need not necess necessarily necessarily ess rily be presented for the lay lay- man Suffice it to say that a unfound isotope of uranium has been Indicated at least tentatively tentatively tentatively tenta tenta- which might well serve as the parent for the orphaned Senies series series se se- ries nies of actinium radio |