Page:Radio-activity.djvu/454

 to form water, although this latter reaction is accompanied by a larger release of energy than any other known to chemistry.

The production of heat from 1 c.c. of the radium emanation is about 21 gram calories per second. This generation of heat would be sufficient to heat to redness, if not to melt down, the walls of the glass tube containing the emanation.

The probable rate of heat emission from 1 gram weight of the emanation can readily be deduced, assuming that the emanation has about 100 times the molecular weight of hydrogen. Since 100 c.c. of the emanation would weigh about 1 gram, the total heat emission from 1 gram of the emanation is about 10^9 gram calories.

It can readily be calculated that one pound weight of the emanation would, at its maximum, radiate energy at the rate of about 10,000 horse-power. This radiation of energy would fall off with the time, but the total emission of energy during the life of the emanation would correspond to 60,000 horse-power days.

250. Heating effects of uranium, thorium, and actinium. Since the heat emission of radium is a direct consequence of its bombardment by the α particles expelled from its mass, it is to be expected that all the radio-elements which emit α rays should also emit heat at a rate proportional to their α ray activity.

Since the activity of pure radium is probably about two million times that of uranium or thorium, the heat emission from 1 gram of thorium or uranium should be about 5 × 10^{-5} gram calories per hour, or about 0·44 gram calories per year. This is a very small rate of generation of heat, but it should be detectable if a large quantity of uranium or thorium is employed. Experiments to determine the heating effect of thorium have been made by Pegram. Three kilograms of thorium oxide, enclosed in a Dewar bulb, were kept in an ice-bath, and the difference of temperature between the thorium and ice-bath determined by a set of iron-constantine thermo-electric couples. The maximum difference of temperature observed was 0·04° C., and, from the rate of change of temperature, it was calculated that one gram of thorium oxide liberated 8 × 10^{-5} gram calories per hour. A more accurate determination of the heat emission is in progress, but the results obtained are of the order of magnitude to be expected.