of the other substances possessed an activity even of the order of 1/100 of uranium.
The ionization of the gas by phosphorus does not, however, seem to be due to a penetrating radiation like that found in the case of uranium, but rather to a chemical action taking place at its surface. The compounds of phosphorus do not show any activity, and in this respect differ from uranium and the other active bodies.
Le Bon[1] has also observed that quinine sulphate, if heated and then allowed to cool, possesses for a short time the property of discharging both positively and negatively electrified bodies. It is necessary, however, to draw a sharp line of distinction between phenomena of this kind and those exhibited by the naturally radio-active bodies. While both, under special conditions, possess the property of ionizing the gas, the laws controlling the phenomena are quite distinct in the two cases. For example, only one compound of quinine shows the property, and that compound only when it has been subjected to a preliminary heating. The action of phosphorus depends on the nature of the gas, and varies with temperature. On the other hand, the activity of the naturally radio-active bodies is spontaneous and permanent. It is exhibited by all compounds, and is not, as far as is yet known, altered by change in the chemical or physical conditions.
9. The discharging and photographic action alone cannot be
taken as a criterion as to whether a substance is radio-active or
not. It is necessary in addition to examine the radiations, and to
test whether the actions take place through appreciable thicknesses
of all kinds of matter opaque to ordinary light. For example, a
body giving out short waves of ultra-violet light can be made to
behave in many respects like a radio-active body. As Lenard[2] has
shown, short waves of ultra-violet light will ionize the gas in their
path, and will be absorbed rapidly in the gas. They will produce
strong photographic action, and may pass through some substances
opaque to ordinary light. The similarity to a radio-active body is
thus fairly complete as regards these properties. On the other
