Show THAT METAL A few day ago the cabled news from london told of a cure for cancer which is the application of radioactivity radio activity to the afflicted parts this information jeaa caused the question to bo asked what is radioactivity radio activity not long ago of paris abilo a woman curie experimenting in her laboratory discovered that uranium thorium and fitch blende possessed extraordinary powers jn themselves of giving off a peculiar light somewhat similar to ibo X rays the result waa that from a large quan city of uranium a substance was obtained in particles which has been given the nomenclature radium when the faist stories of its properties appeared they were thought to be wild dreams of a physicist of tho tisla school but of late there has been inich additional information given to the public to confirm the wondrous reports of the powers of radium one of the most prominent of english scientists G johnstone betoney when asked in regard to radium mado a statement as to its properties by telling to what uses it might bo put while experimenting with salts of uranium only so lately as 1890 william crookes discovered that uranium salts emitted a radiation invisible to the eye but visible under a powerful microscope these rays ho found would penetrate metals or other substances which were impervious to ordinary light but unlike the Ilont gen rays the rays from uranium and radium are unaffected by any treatment whatsoever what heating electrification or in fact any foreign energy makes no perceptible difference to their penetrating powers of their continuous flow Ilont gen rays on the other hand roust be excited byan outside force in order to start the radiation and excite the vacuum tube radium is continually giving off raya resembling in their properties the ilont gen rays energy can only be transferred not created and it hag been shown that the heat radiations which radium gives off are sufficient to melt a piece of ice one sixteenth of an inch thick above the radiating area it is the fact that this energy has been continuous from time immemorial and will most probably continue for millions of years even in the smallest atom of this metal that physicists are at their wit end to know more of this extraordinary radioactive radio active phenomena to begin with radium possesses within itself the incomprehensible power of giving forth a continuous heat supply in order to popularly explain this phenomena an illustration will boffice Buff ice suppose that it were possible to obtain sufficient radium to fill the grate of a fireplace the metal would give off heat without any other external agency sufficient to warm a large room not only would fire not be needed it would never bo needed for the heat which the radium would give off would last for nil eternity and yet would depreciate to an imperceptible extent the metal which produced it it we could obtain sufficient of this new metal it would bo possible todo away with street lamps everywhere and thereby obtain a perfect liht and heat without the aid of cither gas or vice triciti tri city in the treatment of diseases radium ia to play a very important par As a detective it has already been put to a practical test by M and Cu time ago found that a diamond would phosphoresce pho beautifully in alic presence of radium but that the cleverest imitation diamond he could find failed to emit the wave light it is said that the wealthier diamond experts arc now employing radium as a means of detecting frauds on their establishments the method is a follows the expert enters a darkroom dark room where it is necessary to remain for several minutes placing the diamond before a tube containing radium the expert ia at once wade aware of whether the itono be holds is genuine or a base imitation but radium roust be handled with great care not on account of the enormous price of even the smallest piece but on account of the peculiar properties which if possesses hold a tube containing an infinitesimal portion of rad aum ium before a mana temple and ho will have the sensation of peeking peeing elars again if radium bo carried in the waistcoat pocket in a glass tube after some hours a blister will arise on the flesh and a corn which takes somo considerable time to heal it will even kill small creatures whose narvo centers aro near the surface and applied to tho nerve centura of ordinary human beings it produces an effect which is to some extent paralyzing the fixed stare may be composed in great part of radium it may bo there are meteors of radium fragments from suns that have burst comets glowing in the may bo made up of particles of radium were a large meteor of this strange metal to arop to earth the discoverer would have a price loss possession |