hand, the emission of these light waves, unlike that of the radiations from an active body, will depend largely on the molecular state of the compound, or on temperature and other physical conditions. But the great point of distinction lies in the nature of the radiations from the bodies in question. In one case the radiations behave as transverse waves, obeying the usual laws of light waves, while in the case of a naturally active body, they consist for the most part of a continuous flight of material particles projected from the substance with great velocity. Before any substance can be called "radio-active" in the sense in which the term is used to describe the properties of the natural radio-active elements, it is thus necessary to make a close examination of its radiation; for it is unadvisable to extend the use of the term "radio-active" to substances which do not possess the characteristic radiating properties of the radio-active elements which we have described, and the active products which can be obtained from them. Some of the pseudo-active bodies will however be considered later in chapter IX.
10. Thorium. In the course of an examination of a large
number of substances, Schmidt[1] found that thorium, its compounds,
and the minerals containing thorium, possessed properties similar
to those of uranium. The same discovery was made independently
by Mme Curie[2]. The rays from thorium compounds, like those
from uranium, possess the properties of discharging electrified
bodies and acting on a photographic plate. Under the same
conditions the discharging action of the rays is about equal in
amount to that of uranium, but the photographic effect is
distinctly weaker.
The radiations from thorium are more complicated than those from uranium. It was early observed by several experimenters that the radiation from thorium compounds, especially the oxide, when tested by the electrified method, was very variable and uncertain. A detailed investigation of the radiations from thorium under various conditions was made by Owens[3]. He showed that thorium oxide, especially in thick layers, was able to produce
