158. We shall now consider some experiments on the physical and chemical properties of the emanations themselves, without reference to the material producing them, in order to see if they possess any properties which connect them with any known kind of matter.
It was soon observed that the thorium emanation passed unchanged through acid solutions, and later the same result was shown to hold true in the case of both emanations for every reagent that was tried. Preliminary observations[1] showed that the thorium emanation, obtained in the usual way by passing air over thoria, passed unchanged in amount through a platinum tube heated electrically to the highest temperature obtainable. The tube was then filled with platinum-black, and the emanation passed through it in the cold, and with gradually increasing temperatures, until the limit was reached. In another experiment, the emanation was passed through a layer of red-hot lead-chromate in a glass tube. The current of air was replaced by a current of hydrogen, and the emanation was sent through red-hot magnesium-powder and red-hot palladium-black, and, by using a current of carbon dioxide, through red-hot zinc-dust. In every case the emanation passed through without sensible change in the amount. If anything, a slight increase occurred, owing to the time taken for the gas-current to pass through the tubes when hot being slightly less than when cold, the decay en route being consequently less. The only known gases capable of passing in unchanged amount through all the reagents employed are the recently discovered members of the argon family.
But another possible interpretation might be put upon the results. If the emanation were the manifestation of a type of excited radio-activity on the surrounding atmosphere, then, since from the nature of the experiments it was necessary to employ in each case as the atmosphere, a gas not acted on by the reagent employed, the result obtained might be expected. Red-hot magnesium would not retain an emanation consisting of radio-active hydrogen, nor red-hot zinc-dust an emanation consisting of radio-*
- ↑ Rutherford and Soddy, Phil. Mag. Nov. 1902.
