Carbon bisulphide 20
Petroleum ether 15
Amylene 14
Benzine 4
Liquid air 1·3
Vaseline oil 1·6
We may, however, assume that liquids and gases behave similarly, but
that, in the case of liquids, the current remains proportional to the
tension up to a much higher limit than in the case of gases. It
therefore seemed probable that the limit of proportionality could be
lowered by using a much more feeble radiation, and this idea was
verified by experiment. The radio-active body employed was 150 times
less active than that which had served for the previous experiments. For
tensions of 50, 100, 200, 400 volts, the intensities of the current were
represented respectively by the numbers 109, 185, 255, 335. The
proportionality was no longer maintained, but the current showed great
variation when the difference of potential was doubled.
Some of the liquids examined are nearly perfect insulators when
maintained at a constant temperature and when screened from the action
of the rays. Such are liquid air, petroleum ether, vaseline oil, and
amylene. It is therefore very easy to study the effect of the rays.
Vaseline oil is much less sensitive to the action of the rays than is
petroleum ether. This fact may have some relation to the difference in
volatility which exists between these two hydrocarbons. Liquid air,
which has boiled for some time in the experimental vessel, is more
sensitive to the action of the rays than that newly poured in; the
conductivity produced by the rays is one-fourth as great again in the
former case. M. Curie has investigated the action of the rays upon
amylene and upon petroleum ether at temperatures of +10° and –17°. The
conductivity due to the radiation diminishes by one-tenth of its value
only, in passing from 10° to –17°.
In the experiments in which the temperature of the liquid is varied, the
temperature of the radium may be either that of the surrounding
atmosphere or that of the liquid; the same result is obtained in both
cases. This leads to the conclusion that the radiation of radium does
not vary with the temperature, and remains unaltered even at the
temperature of liquid air. This fact has been verified directly by
measurements.
_Various Effects and Applications of the Ionising Action of the Rays
Emitted by Radio-active Substances._
The rays of the new radio-active substances have a strongly ionising
action upon air. By the action of radium _the condensation of
supersaturated water vapour_ can be easily induced, just as happens by
the action of cathode rays and Röntgen rays.
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