There can, therefore, be nothing in any way surprising in the fact
that a combination which, like the atomic combination of radium, is
not stable--since it disaggregates itself,--is capable of
spontaneously liberating energy, but what may be a little astonishing,
at first sight, is the considerable amount of this energy.
M. Curie has calculated directly, by the aid of the calorimeter, the
quantity of energy liberated, measuring it entirely in the form of
heat. The disengagement of heat accounted for in a grain of radium is
uniform, and amounts to 100 calories per hour. It must therefore be
admitted that an atom of radium, in disaggregating itself, liberates
30,000 times more energy than a molecule of hydrogen when the latter
combines with an atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water.
We may ask ourselves how the atomic edifice of the active body can be
constructed, to contain so great a provision of energy. We will remark
that such a question might be asked concerning cases known from the
most remote antiquity, like that of the chemical systems, without any
satisfactory answer ever being given.
Pages:
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371