PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1524, 3 May 1919, Page 2

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

TWO INTERESTING PAPERS.

TWO INTERESTING PAPERS. The monthly mooting of the Manawatu Philosophical Society was held last night. Mr M. A. Eliott presided, and thcro was a good attendance. Two papers were contributed one on "Radium, being sent bv Mr J. W. Poynton, S M., of Waikato, who was formerly a member of the society, and the other by Mr W, 11, Mummery, F.1.C., of Pulmerston. RADItiM. The first paper; Which was contributed by Mr J. \V. Poynton, S.M., dealt very in-, terestingly with the wonders of Radium. In regard to the discovery of radium, it was pointed out that certain after exposure to light, appeared to absorb tho rays, and give oUt a light of their own. Amongst the substances made luminous by tho X rays wero tho oxido and other compounds of a metal called "uranium," which was discovered in pitchblende found in tho copper and tin mines of different countries, liucquerel, a French scientist, was examining uranium and its compounds, and found that tho pure metal uranium, without being exi>osed to light gave off rays that were not X rays. The discovery caused tremendous interest, anil the Curies began investigating it. Madame Curie then discovered, by means of the electroscope, a new element in pitchblende called polonium, After a further series of most laborious and exhaustive experiments, she discovered something a million limes asactive as manium. This was radium—the most remarkable kind of matter known, which, without any other exciting energy gave out light and heat and Other things as well. It was always about two degrees of heat above the heat of the substances surrounding it, and its peculiar properties were so op]x>seu to all our notion* of matter that it had attracted tliu attention of scientists from ail over the world. Amongst the interesting facts concerning radium it was mentioned that (1) its heat and light would gradually decline, but it would take moro than 1700 years before they diminished to one half ot their present power; (2) three kinds of rays were given off, including tho X rays, while (3) it also produced a sort of gas called "emanation." Research by Rutherfurd and Ramsay had established tho facts that radium decayed in about four days, iy,id in doing bo gaVo rise to other radioactive products, and that for its Weight and volume, this emanation liberated light and heat in enormous quantities, and it gave out 2,000,000 times moro heat than that produced by tho combination of oxygen and hydrogen, tho i:nion of which favo off tho maximum standard of heat. lio products of decay of tho emanation decayed like the emanation itself. There wero threo of these, one took 40 years to diminish in activity to half its primary radio-activity, tho other 143 days, and tho third nx days. Radium was kitovvh to bo in minute quantities in" the ocean and earth, and its tremendous energy certainly kept up the heat of our planet. _ It was believed that ikMinium broke down into vadium, and radium into load and other elements._ In tho older deposits of tho oarth, tho pitchblondo and other ores containing theso elements wero found to contain less uranium and moro radium than such ores deposited in more recent rocks, such _ as those of the coal period. Later deposits always had more uvinium and less load, Indicating tho change of uranium ihlo lead by theso extraordinary transformations. In -connection with tho paper several interesting' exhibits were shown, including some carmotite (radio-active ore), a small tubo of zjnc-sulphidc, which showed that it possessed tho power to absorb light and give it off again in the dark; and also a small tube of radium bromide, which when opened in the dark was shown to bo self luminous. COLLOSOLB AND BACTERIOLOGY. "Tim Action of Collosols in Relation to PjJieicriology" wan tho subject of Mr Mummery» discourse. Tho lecturer's in- | troductory remarks were concerning bacteri-1 ologv in tho destroying of harmful bacteria. It was explained that the simplest method of killing microbe* Was by the application of heat and sunlight. Many disinfectants had proved deadly to microbes, but unfortunately nearly every efficient germicide known" until recently was destructive to living organic tissue. Immediately followin!? tho discovery of radium, howevor, it was , found that the emanations had a strong ] germicidal action, but this substance, too. had a serious burning effect on the skin and flesh. About 19C3 tho attention of medical •ii ■:n was directed to the curative effect of Certain waters from mineral springs, and research revealed tho fact that those waters contained a number of extremely small metallic particles endowed with a rapid oscillatory movement known as tho Brownian movement, and tho condition under which tho particles wero present was known as the colloidal condition. A method, known as Bridges's, was eventually discovered by which tho number and efficiency of theso particles was increased in tho solution. It was found that theso solutions had a very high germicidal power, and after research work entailing <»'er 2000 experiments, Mr Henry C'rookcs was ablo to produce a harmless liquid containing metallic particles in suspension endowed with the Brownian movement, and ho called these preparations "Collosols." The definition of collosols was therefore: "Innocuous solutions of various metallic particles of an infinitesimal size, remaining ill suspension with tho Brownian movement," or briefly these were colloidal solutions. The action of collosols at first sight was similar to that of radium, with tho .mormons and imimrtnnc difference that whereas radium killed and destroyed the ilch as well as the bacteria, the other metal-, killed only the bacteria, and at the same, time exercised a bland influence on tho animal tissues. The theory of their germicidal action was that each metallic colloidal particle earned a charge,of electricity, :\m\ they therefore, mutually repelled each other,-and thus did not lose their electricity. If, however, a foreign body such as a microbe entered the solution, it received the charges of many thousands or mill-'ons of par!ides of metal, _ and this would conceivably account for its death. The proportional size of an average microbe to a collosol particle was 330 to 1, or to give a popular example (he relative sizes were as an oloulinnt to a mouse, and it could thus ba readily understood that the collosols would act' in tho same way as a charge ot grapo shot. It was estimated that tho number of collosols in 15 drops of silver collosol would be in round numbers twenty billions. The collosol preparations wero used in many diseases, and had been described by a famous surgeon as the most useful preparation given to medical science since tho_ introduction of cocaine, Tho preparations woro of special value in opthalmic surgery, whilo in veterinary, work, sores of all kinds were quickly cured by their application. H'ho speaker said that he was indebted to Mr lienrv Crookes, A.R.S.M., M. Inst. E.K., for'the foregoing information, and stated in conclusion that the valuable rouicdv had been used with great success by tho'Emieh Army Medical Corps during the war, but he was unable to say whether tho British medical faculty had adopted it to anv extent. Mr Mummery was accorded a vote of thanks for his very interesting paper, and it was also decided to forward a lettor to Mr Poynton,, thanking him for his paper and tho interest he continued to take in tho society.