Mansfield, Ohio, News Journal article by F. N. Case, Sunday, 4 Apr 1948.

Science Today

A Little Stargazing Will Teach You Lot About Atom

By FOREST N. CASE

One behavior of atoms was observed by the scientist that made him realize that the atom was not a hard unalterable mass of matter. This behavior was the emission of alpha and beta rays from certain elements. These rays were discovered by Becquerel in 1896, just 50 years ago.

They were observed in the exposure of photographic film by uranium ore by rays that passed through the protective covering on the film. This was man's first look at radioactivity.

About this time the Curies discovered nature's king of the radioactive elements, radium. Radium is formed from uranium when the uranium atom disintegrates. With a supply of radium to study, the scientists started looking for the mechanism in the atom that made possible the emission of rays.

His search took him directly to the internal structure of the atom and by working with this structure he was able to rearrange it at will.

His tool for this rearrangement was the high speed particles given off by radium, the cyclotron and now the atomic pile. The evidence was piling up to confirm the idea that the atom was truly very much like our solar system.

LOOK AT STARS

Two best visualize what the atom is like look tonight at the stars and imagine each as being a body of an atom. Instead of heavenly bodies think of them as atomic bodies. They all follow a given path with regard to each other and are dependent upon each other in their attractions.

Now imagine one of these stars shooting through space and crashing into the planet Mars. The impact would be so great that Mars would go flying off leaving the solar system unbalanced and there would be profound effect on the earth as the planets rearranged themselves to maintain a balance around the Sun.

To understand an atomic explosion again look at the solar system and imagine that a body as they rush through space, came crashing into our sun. The disintegration of the sun would break the bonds of gravity that holds the planets in their orbit and rush through space. With his bond broken the planets would fly through space until they crashed into other bodies where the process would be repeated until the effect would be the total destruction of everything in range of the explosion.

The great speed at which the planets move through space is duplicated by the bodies in the atom so there is little wonder at the titanic power of atomic explosion. When the disintegration process is slow, like that in the atomic pile, particles escape in great numbers without striking other atomic bodies. These escaping bodies are the common radiations we associate with radioactivity.

The alpha rays that appear to be positive charged particles do not travel far from their source. They are also the least penetrating of the rays given off by radioactive materials. The skin on a human will stop alpha rays. They are dangerous only when inside the body. The beta rays are negative charged particles and travel at the speed of light. They penetrate deeper into solid state do the alpha rays.

GAMMAS DANGEROUS

Gamma rays are formed when an escaping atomic body strikes another atomic body. The energy is given off in the form of his dangerous rays. X-rays are of the same nature as gamma rays. The gammas will pass through solids as easily as light will pass through glass. The fact they are like X-rays makes them valuable in the treatment of cancer.

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