THE LATEST FACTS ABOUT RADIUM.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1251, 28 May 1914, Page 4

THE LATEST FACTS ABOUT RADIUM.

(By T. Thorne Baker.)

The rarest thing ia lbs world. Mr Mallaby-Deeley, in his recent purchase of the Bedford estates, could have paid lor the whole transaction with a small teaeupful of radium. At its present price, one ounce of radium is worth about huh a million pounds, and though new sources of mineral and improved methods of extraction may ultimately bring the price much lower, its rarity will always remain, because it occurs in nature in such infinitesimally small quantities.

Since its discovery radium has been a thing of extreme fascination to the scientist, while the general public have regarded it with mild curiosity. But its recent effects in the treatment of cancer have made it a thing of absorbing interest to the whole world. There are various sources of obtaining radium, for it occurs always in a fixed proportion with the metal uranium. Wherever we find uranium we are sure to find the one three-millionth part of radium with it. Pitchblende is the richest mineral, but certain other substances as aulunite, torbenite aud caruotite contain small quantities of uranium, and it is from these three poorer minerals that the future supply of radium will very largely come, unless, of course, unforeseen fresh supplies of pitchblende are discovered. HOW RADIUM IS EXTRACTKD. The chemist finds himself with one ton of ore, and he knows by measurement with delicate instruments that it contains about ten milligrams, or less than the sixth part of a grain, of radium Imagine trying to extract a grain ot something from six ..us

solid rock ! But modern chemist. - to which the name of radii chemistry has now been give:,, has enabled this problem to be

solved with such complete su.: cess that by the mo.*, r-.-coui methods hardly any of this single grain is lost during the tedious and long process of extraction. The result is that some innubs later nearly f h. o' priceless grain of radium is extracted iu an almost pure state, and its purity can|be measured against a special standard samolc prepared by Mme. Curie which is kept jealously guarded at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres, near Paris. This standard sample of pure radium chloride contains nearly twenty-two milligrams sealed up in a thin glass tube, and three other international standards are kept at the Academy of Sciences in Vienna.

It is quite a common thing when buying a large quantity of radium —by this Is meant a grain or two —to buy it on conditions that its purity be first tested against one or other of the international standard specimens. Radium water is being largely tried now in the treatment not only of cancer but of various rheumatic and gouty troubles, and this water consists of ordinary water charged with the gas given off fay radium and known as “emanation.” If some radium salt be dissolved in water and leit in a sealed vessel, iu about a month the “emanation” gas which it produces reaches a stale oi

Every country has products in which it excels ; every maker lias particular specialities. Every house, too, has exclusive goods chosen because they are absolutely the best of their kind. Thus, most people know that the Broadwood, the Ronisch, the Lipp and the Stemway are four great pianos, and that the sole agents for these magnificent instruments in this Dominion are the Dresden Piano Company, Ltd. It is remarkable how many friends “The Dresden” possesses—a support built up by consistent conduct of business on the best principles. The Company’s exceedingly simple time-payment system is wonderfully popular. Many a wage-earner has this to thank for the “music in his home.” The Company invites every visitor to inspect its warehouse. Nu need to buy—just come to look, “The Dresden” is proud ot its splendid stock of pianos and organs. The Company’s North Island manager is Mr M. J. Brookes. — AUvt.

equilibrium, aud it can be expelled by boiling and passed into water, whicli then possesses radio-active qualities. This‘‘emanation water” only retains its activity ‘or a short time, and in less than four days has become impoverished to less than bait its original value. VALUE on RADIUM WATER, A ‘lie Radium Institute two lots v.dunn are kept continually in use .ui miking the water, and whik m.e ... renting, so to speak, for its montii, the other has produced enough water to go on with for tins month- One way of overcoming the difficulty of the lessening effects is to increase the dose day by day, so that if you were to start to-day taking doses of a tablespoonlui, on the fourth day you would take two tablespoonfuls and so on. But after the fourth day the radio-activity diminishes so rapidly that the water is of little more use, and fresh must be secured. This is Hie reason that spring waters, which may give beneficial results on account of containing radio-activity, must be drunk at the spring, as if bottled and drunk perhaps weeks afterwards the radio-active properties have vanished.

Many years ago the natives in some South American districts used to cover their wounds with dust which they got in the neighbourhood made with water into a kind ot poultice, and recently it was discovered that there was radium in the locality, so that years ago, quite ignorantly, the curative effects of radium were already being employed. The residues obtained after all the radium has been extracted still contain minute traces ui radioactivity and arc used a good deal on the Continent for plasters and ball);;. One of the uses to which iicy are must likely to be put, uowcver. in the luture is the acceleration ot the growth ot crops. I recently described at the Royal Society ot Arts experiments in which I had obtained 400 per cent, increase ot weight in radishes, and lbs surveyor to the board of Agriculture at Truro, Mr Henderson, repeated these experiments with, in one case, even better results. Further experiments made with wheat, oats and barl-y have altcady given evidence ot the good effects of radium, and one of the most remarkable features of its action is that such exceedingly minute traces of it are required. Thus two milligrams of radium to twenty tons or more of soil will give excellent results, and as the life of the radium is over two thousand years one treatment ought to go a very long way !

kaoh'm as an kxj'i.osivk. Radium is known now gradually to disintegrate and give rise to other products and to give forth energy which, though not unending. lasts for thousands of years. Une day the secret may be discovered of means to force the radium or any other element to disintegrate very quickly, with the result that the energy of explcs'Ve violence would be evolved. Our knowledge of radium is increasing very rapidly, and even to the trained physicist the mass of facts contained in Professor Rutherford’s latest treatise on radio-active substances seems -i I most appalling in view of the lew years during which there has been time to study it. Radium is looked upon as an evil iutluence by certain psychologists, so that we may hope that even if some new and super-violent agent of destruction be ultimately evolved, its discovery may be turned to the avoidance of war just as huge armaments are supposed to do at the presea time.