Page:EB1911 - Volume 22.djvu/816

Rh removal from the emanation for 20 minutes, radium A has practically disappeared and the rays arise entirely from radium C. Radium C has proved very valuable in radioactive measurements as providing an intense source of homogeneous rays. Twenty-four hours after removal, the activity due to radium B and C has become exceedingly small. The wire, however, still shows a very small residual activity, first noted by Mme Curie. This residual activity measured by the rays rapidly increases with the time and reaches a maximum in about three years. The active deposit of slow change has been examined in detail by Rutherford (23) and by Meyer and Schweidler (24). It has been shown to consist of three successive products called radium D, E and F. Radium D is a rayless substance of slow period of transformation. Its period has been calculated by Rutherford to be about 40 years, and by Meyer and Schweidler about 12 years. Antonoff (25) fixes the period of about 17 years. Radium D changes into E, a ray product of period about 5 days, and E into F, an ray product of period 140 days. It was at first thought that radium E was complex, but no evidence of this has been observed by Antonoff. The product radium F is of special interest, for it is identical with polonium-the first active body separated by Mme Curie. In a similar way it has been shown that radium D is the primary source of the activity observed in lead or “ radiolead ” separated by Hofmann. It is interesting to note what valuable results have been obtained from an examination of the minute residual activity observed on bodies exposed in the presence of the radium emanation.

Radium Emanation.—The radium emanation is to be regarded as a typical radioactive product or transition element which exists in a gaseous form. It is produced from radium at a constant rate, and is transformed into radium A and helium. Its half-period of transformation is 3.86 days. The emanation from radium has been purified by condensing it in liquid air, and pumping out the residual gases. The volume (26) of the emanation at normal pressure and temperature to be derived from one gram of radium in equilibrium is about 0.6 cubic millimetres. This small quantity of gas contains initially more than three-quarters of the total activity of the radium before its separation. In a pure state, the emanation is 100,000 times as active weight for weight as pure radium. Pure emanation in a spectrum tube gives a characteristic spectrum of bright lines (27). The discharge in the gas is bluish in colour. With continued sparking, the emanation is driven into the walls of the tube and the electrodes. Notwithstanding the minute volume of emanation available, the boiling-point of the emanation has been determined at various pressures. At atmospheric pressure Rutherford (28) found the boiling-point to be -67° C., and Gray and Ramsay (29) 71° C. Liquid emanation appears colourless when first condensed; when the temperature is lowered, the liquid emanation freezes, and at the temperature of liquid air glows with a bright rose colour. The density of liquid emanation has been estimated at 5 or 6.

Approximate estimates of the molecular weight of the radium emanation were early made by diffusion methods. The molecular weight in most cases came out about 100. In a comparison by Perkins of the rate of diffusion of the emanation with that of a monatomic vapour of high molecular weight, viz. mercury, the value deduced was 234. Since the radium atom in breaking up gives rise to one atom of the emanation and one atom of helium, its atomic weight should be 226-4=222. The emanation appears to have no definite chemical properties, and in this respect belongs to the group of inert monatomic gases of which helium and argon are the best known examples. It is partially soluble in water, and readily absorbed by charcoal.

Thorium.—The first product observed in thorium was the emanation. This gives rise to the active deposit which has been analysed by Rutherford, Miss Brooks and by Hahn, and shown to consist of probably four products—thorium A, B, C and D. Thorium A is a rayless product of period 10.5 hours; thorium B an ray product of period about one hour. The presence of thorium C has been inferred from the two types of rays present in the active deposit, but no chemical separation of B and C has yet been found possible. Hahn has shown that thorium D-a ray product of period 3 minutes-can easily be separated by the recoil method. A special interest attaches to the product thorium X (30), which was first separated by Rutherford and Soddy, since experiments with this substance laid the foundation of the general theory of radioactive transformations. A close analysis of thorium has led to the separation of a number of new products. Hahn (31) found that a very active substance emitting rays, which gave rise to thorium X, could be separated from thorium minerals. This active substance, called radiothorium, has been closely examined by Hahn and Blanc. Its period of decay was found by Hahn to be about 2 years, and by Blanc to be 737 days. From an examination of the activity of commercial thorium nitrate of different ages, Hahn showed that another product must be present, which he called mesothorium. This is separated from thorium with Th X by precipitation with ammonia. Thorium is first transformed into the rayless product mesothorium, of period about 5 years. This gives rise to a ray product of quick transformation, which in turn changes into radiothorium. This changes into thorium X, and so on through a long series of changes. When isolated in the pure state, radiothorium would have an activity about a thousand times greater than radium, but would lose its activity with time with a period of about 2 years. Mesothorium, when first separated, would be inactive, but in consequence of the production of radiothorium, its activity would rapidly increase for several years. After reaching a maximum, it would finally decay with a period of five years. Since a large amount of thorium is separated annually from thorium minerals, it would be of great importance at the same time to separate the radiothorium and mesothorium present. For many purposes active preparations of these substances would be as valuable as radium itself, and the amount of active matter from this source would be greater than that at present available from the separation of radium from uranium minerals.

Actinium.—The transformations observed in actinium are very analogous to those in thorium. Actinium itself is a rayless product which changes into radioactinium, an ray product of period 19.5 days, first separated by Hahn (32). This changes into actinium X, of period 10.2 days, first separated by Godlewski (33). Actinium X is transformed into the emanation which in turn gives rise to three further products, called actinium A, B and C. Although very active preparations of actinium have been prepared, it has so far not been found possible to separate the actinium from the rare earths with which it is mixed. We do not in consequence know its atomic weight or spectrum.

Origin of Radium.—According to the transformation theory, radium, like all other radioactive products, must be regarded as a changing element. Preliminary calculations showed that radium must have a period of transformation of several thousand years. Consequently in order that any radium could exist in old minerals, the supply must be kept up by the transformation of some other substance. Since radium is always found associated with uranium minerals, it seemed probable from the beginning that uranium must be the primary element from which radium is derived. If this were the case, in old minerals which have not been altered by the action of percolating waters, the ratio of the amount of radium to uranium in a mineral must be a constant. This must evidently be the case, for in a state of equilibrium the rate of breaking up of radium must equal the rate of supply of radium from uranium. If P, Q be the number of atoms of uranium and radium respectively in equilibrium, and λ1, λ2 their constants of change, then λ2Q=λ1P or Q/P=λ1/λ2=T2/T1 where T2 and T1 are the half-periods of transformation of uranium and radium respectively. The work of Boltwood (34), Strutt (35) and McCoy (36) has conclusively shown that the ratio of radium to uranium in old minerals is a constant. Boltwood and Strutt determined the quantity of radium present in a mineral by the emanation method, and the amount of uranium by analysis