was found that V = 175 volts—a value considerably greater than that observed by Townsend from data of ionization by collision. The ionization in the two cases, however, is produced under very different conditions, and it is impossible to estimate how much of the energy of the rays is dissipated in the form of heat.
42. Variations are found in the saturation current through gases,
exposed to the radiations from active bodies, when the pressure
and nature of the gas and the distance between the electrodes are
varied. Some cases which are of special importance in measurements
will now be considered. With unscreened active material
the ionization of the gas is, to a large extent, due to the α rays, which
are absorbed in their passage through a few centimetres of air.
In consequence of this rapid absorption, the ionization decreases
rapidly from the surface of the active body, and this gives rise to
conductivity phenomena different in character from those observed
with Röntgen rays, where the ionization is in most cases uniform.
43. Variation of the current with distance between the plates. It has been found experimentally[1] that the intensity of
the ionization, due to a large plane surface of active matter, falls
off approximately in an exponential law with the distance from the
plate. On the assumption that the rate of production of ions at
any point is a measure of the intensity I of the radiation, the
value of I at that point is given by I/I_{0} = e^{-λx}, where λ is a
constant, x the distance from the plate, and I_{0} the intensity of the
radiation at the surface of the plate.
While the exponential law, in some cases, approximately represents the variation of the ionization with distance, in others the divergence from it is wide. The ionization, due to a plane surface of polonium, for example, falls off more rapidly than the exponential law indicates. The α rays from an active substance like radium are highly complex; the law of variation of the ionization due to them is by no means simple and depends upon a variety of conditions. The distribution of ionization is quite different according as a thick layer or a very thick film of radio-active matter is employed. The question is fully considered at the end of
- ↑ Rutherford, Phil. Mag. Jan. 1899.
