Page:Radio-activity.djvu/195

 about 5 mms. Curve A is for a cone of rays of angle 20°. The initial current at a distance of 7 cms. is due to the β and γ rays and natural leak. This curve is initially parabolic, and then is made up of two straight lines. Curve B is for a smaller cone, and shows the straight line character of the curve to within a short distance of the radium. Curve C was obtained under the same condition as curve A, but with a layer of gold beater's skin placed over the radium. The effect of this is to reduce all the ordinates of curve A by the same quantity. This is to be expected on the simple theory already considered. Curve D was obtained when the radium was heated so as to get rid of the emanation and its products. The [Greek: alpha] particles of greatest range are quite absent and the curve is simpler in character.

Fig. 42.

The complex character of the radium curves are more clearly brought out by a careful examination of a portion of the curve at distances between 2 and 5 cms. from the radium, using an ionization vessel of depth only 2 mms. The results are shown in Fig. 42, where the curve is seen to consist approximately of