LECTURE ON RADIUM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 191, 16 September 1909, Page 2

LECTURE ON RADIUM.

ITS MARVELLOUS PROPERTIES. The lirst of a series,of lectures under the auspices of the Church of England -Men's Society was given last night by Dr. Home in St. Mary's Hall. The lecturer dealt with the subject of ■■Radium,-' and traced the development of scientific research from its beginniii" with the mysterious rays observed by the German scientist Kontgen and by him called "X-rays" (the <V> being Ihe usual non-committal symbol tor the unktimrn quantity). Further investigations were made by various scientist.., especially .Madame Curie, who succeeded Hi isolating radium, and the most notable work had been done litter stillTy the New Zealanrfcr (of Taranaki), Professor Rutherford. The fundamental puzzle of r adiuiu was that it continued to throw off energy without sensible dimunition of bulk or vitality, and t--eoiiduct was such as to give the whole scientific world pause. They were <r' V en a great shock when Professor Rutherford brought forward his theory of the

divisibility of the atom, hitherto con. su'eret! the irreducible minimum of material analysis. He accounted for the enormous activity of radium bv postulating the existence within the atom of an almost infinite number of' still more minute corpuscles, each in Jtseii a complete sort of world, revolving at an enormous rate round a con"iincentre, as the planets revolve round the sun, the whole -system of corpuscles constituting the atom „f „diu ln . P Thi. was the New Zealander's great contri' bution to science, upon which more than ii'i.vtlnng else the Nobel science ~"" JMH awarded him. His investigations '""' Plaeed him in the lead of scientists

engaged o n this problem the eompnra- ■ five solution of which would m,,<l likej ■:.' '• ev » ll| l'»»>?" scientific conceptions u f ! he constitutK,,, of the universe. Or home .showed how the Professor would' loeoimt for the vast heat 01" 1, „ bv tie existence in that bodv ofVeit %2$ was inclined to believe that lea, , ""* "'""" "t * ' i on, T? I R ' Vl '.. oUt its <»»»"»- ions, these emanations were n» , W'ly due to the impact of the ormisZ n "e upon another Th,. ,'-'"'' s 1 his remarks byX < 'a'nd J fiequcnt excursions into associated sub : eets.uel, as spectral analysis, the theory J of elements, the met 1 of obtaining Ways n„d the like. Speaking as to th' ied.cn! application of radium, he "i«l that it was found that certain xmu "»* 'from the element and its

--■"iipuini.lv destroyed protoplasm, the es- ;■■"■•(' u t life-, unit this was the reason ', w f s ° usl ' f »l '"'■! .vet so dangerous in ■he treatment of such disease as caiiccUK- .problem which medical scientists >•< to solve was how to apply the rnv , ■» Uii- cancer cell* (which in. their earlier s ages had lower vitality than | '■' 1..-alth.v flesh cells) so as to destroy Uii-ni. and yet to avoid damagim' beyond '■asy repair the healthy eells of the' undiseased llesh. This power of the ruvs 1 "'■''"J' t»<- protoplasm JiacJ been discovered accidentally through such mean* as jill»win ff the rays to imphge on file ,I(N > {wlnt-I came radio-active, apparently), thus producing after some time sores dillieult to heal. One scientist carried a tube of the radium .compound in bis vest pocket for some time, and the result was „ sore which took a couple of years to heal.

'the subject «•«„■ most difficult to rc■liice lo uutechnical language, but Dr. Jlonie succeeded in conveying a very clear idea of it to his audience. \ very iciu-ly vote of thanks was accorded to lniu for his lecture.