solution became more complete. The electro-negative solution was rapidly turned to a jelly and became opaque. These actions were found to be due to the α rays of radium alone.
This is further evidence in favour of the view that the α rays consist of projected positively charged bodies of atomic dimensions, for a similar coagulation effect is produced by the metallic ions of liquid electrolytes, and has been shown by W. C. D. Whetham[1] to be due to the electric charges carried by the ions.
124. Gases evolved from radium. Curie and Debierne[2]
observed that radium preparations placed in a vacuum tube continually
lowered the vacuum. The gas evolved was always accompanied
by the emanation, but no new lines were observed in its
spectrum. Giesel[3] has observed a similar evolution of gas from
solutions of radium bromide. Giesel forwarded some active material
to Runge and Bödlander, in order that they might test the gas
spectroscopically. From 1 gram of a 5 per cent. radium preparation
they obtained 3·5 c.c. of gas in 16 days. This gas was found,
however, to be mainly hydrogen, with 12 per cent. of oxygen. In
later experiments Ramsay and Soddy[4] found that 50 milligrams of
radium bromide evolved gases at the rate of about 0·5 c.c. per day.
This is a rate of evolution about twice that observed by Runge
and Bödlander. On analysing the gases about 28·9 per cent.
consisted of oxygen, and the rest hydrogen. The slight excess
of hydrogen over that attained in the decomposition of water, they
consider to be due to the action of oxygen on the grease of the
stop-cocks. The radio-active emanation from radium has a strong
oxidizing action and rapidly produces carbon dioxide, if carbonaceous
matter is present. The production of gas is probably due to the
action of the radiations in decomposing water. The amount of
energy required to produce the rate of decomposition observed by
Ramsay and Soddy—about 10 c.c. per day for 1 gram of radium
bromide—corresponds to about 30 gram-calories per day. This
amount of energy is about two per cent. of the total energy emitted
in the form of heat.
