Page:Radio-activity.djvu/318

 If any solid body is placed inside a closed vessel containing an emanating compound of thorium or radium, its surface becomes radio-active. For thorium compounds the amount of excited activity on a body is in general greater the nearer it is to the active material. In the case of radium, however, provided the body has been exposed for several hours, the amount of excited activity is to a large extent independent of the position of the body in the vessel containing the active material. Bodies are made active whether exposed directly to the action of the radio-active substance or screened from the action of the direct rays. This has been clearly shown in some experiments of P. Curie. A small open vessel a (Fig. 62) containing a solution of radium is placed inside a larger closed vessel V.

Fig. 62.

Plates A, B, C, D, E are placed in various positions in the enclosure. After exposure for a day, the plates after removal are found to be radio-active even in positions completely shielded from the action of the direct rays. For example, the plate D shielded from the direct radiation by the lead plate P is as active as the plate E, exposed to the direct radiation. The amount of activity produced in a given time on a plate of given area in a definite position is independent of the material of the plate. Plates of mica, copper, cardboard, ebonite, all show equal amounts of activity. The amount of activity depends on the area of the plate and on