Evening Star Newspaper, May 10, 1931, Page 79

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 10, 1931.° In the Face of Untold Danger to Themselves, Scientists Now Are Playing W ith Electric Current That Produces New Super X-Rays Nearly as Powerful as Radium Radiations Probing the Secrets of Health and Matter. BY WATSON DAVIS. ILLIONS cf volts—more electrical pressure than man ever produced before—are being used in an at- tack on problems that lie at the very heart of the two great sciences of physics and medicine. Millions of volts may explore the heart of the atom. They may bring & new treatment of eancer. In at least four great laboratories, ia Berlin, Pasadena, Schenectady and Washington, a friendly race is in progress to build larger vacuum tubes that operate at larger voltage and produce mere intense radiations than ever before. In the labcratories of the Carnegie Insti- tution near one of Washington's finest resi- dential districts there work three physicists. They are at present out in front in this race for more intensive radiation. These three musketeers of physics are Dr. M. A. Tuve, L. R. Hafstad and Odd Dahl of the staff of the department of terrestrial mag- petism of the institution. Their tubes have operated at about 2,000,000 wolts, they have generated sparks at 5,200,000 voits and they have a new method that promises even much higher voitage in the not-distant Suture, These three men and their tubes have been @ecorated with the $1,000 annual prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Bcience. Out of their tubes come the most penetrating gadiations that man has ever made. These radiations are more penetrating, more powerful, more capable of harm or good than padium, wonder element that it is. Never before have mortals had such a power= ful weapon under their control. - No wonder scientists in their own quiet way talk excitedly about the possibilities. dUDGID by the possible usefulness of the radiations, the achievements of these ex- ftself, momentous as that would be. The new tube can duplicate the radiations twrn of the century upset permanency of matter, prcduces continuously and nothing that can be $t changes its rate of disintegration shooting off of powerful rays. 7 s The three kinds of radium radiations have been christened with the Greek leater names, alpha, beta and gamma. Alpha rays are made ap of hearts of helium atoms, positively charged, rushing along at high speed. Beta rays are electrons that are speeded up. These can be thought of as gobs of negative electricity, weightless, but the very essence of matter. Gamma rays given off by radium are not particles at all, but true waves like radio, light or X-rays. They are nature’s X-rays, with shorter wavelengths, higher frequencies and more penetration into solid matter than the ordinary X-rays used by physicians and scien- tists, The new super X-ray tubes, in effect, create synthetic gamma rays. Others have been in this high voltage race. Almost simultaneously with Dr. Tuve's measure- ment of the speed of his beta rays and the penetrating power of his gamma rays, there came from Berlin announcement of a similar feat by Drs. A. Brasche and F. Lange. These workers have also performed the feat of giving to electrons jolts amounting to over 2,000,000 volts. And other workers in their field have not been idle. Using apparatus like the usual X-ray tube, Dr. C. C. Lauritsen and his associates of the California Institute of Technology, Pasa- have recently produced X-rays using a tube of his own design called & “cas- cade” tube, has produced 900,000-volt electrons. Though these latter rays are not so speedy as Dr. Tuve'’s, they have much greater total in- tensity. Much more elaborate protectiom is required for workers in this case, Insulation for the apparatus used is pro- vided by the coil and its vacuum tube in a tank of oil eight feet deep, put under pressure at high voltages. The first achievement of the Carnegie Insti- tution experimenters was the production of fast moving negative electrons, artificlal beta rays identical with one cf the radiaticns from ra- dium. To speed up immensely a wandering electron it is simply permiited to falk. Only an elec- trical pull is required instead of a gravitational pull. It is to produce this puil that the im- mensely high voltages are required. A falling electric is much like a falling brick. The farcher it falls the faster becomes its speed. An eclectron that hes fallen through 2,000,000 volts naturally requires some rather vigorous stopping. AU"XD racers win applause when they speed more than 250 miles an hour. That many miles per second would seem an inconcelvable © 'Ariificial lightning with a power of 1,000,000 volts. A clever double-exposure eamera .shot shows the giant tube developed by Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen at the California Institute of Technology, with Dr. Lauritsen standing in the € The g;, ’ ; ’_,-. bg,k ic X-ray tube in the high-tension laboratory of the California Insts- “dug-out” in which the rays are discharged. The inset shows how tute of Technology, at Pasadena, with two physicians standing on m} the L rays can be used in the treatment of cancer in human beings. speed. Yet that enormous velocity is only one seven-hundredth of the speed that has now been imparted to elzctrons in these experiments. duced in X-ray tubes, but there the elecirons are much slower. Imagine a brick that has fallen from the top It will make quite a all directions. the Carnegie Institu- tion has done is to produce more rapidly mov- ing electrons than ever before and thus give the jelly a correspondingly greater jar when they hit it, The shiver produced is correspond- Innovations in cancer {reatment are one pos- sible outcome of the new gamma rays, for it is this constituent of the radium radiations that is eflfective in treating tumors. On the other hand, the gamma rays can do Incalcuable harm. They produce serious burns in normal flesh exposed too long to their action. During the early days of pioneer work with radium and X-rays many workers lost their lives because the action of the rays is delayed and fatal doses had been given before the dan- ger was realized. UST how much risk Tuve, Haystad and Dahl are taking in playing with such a danger- ous rzdiation machine is still 3 matter of con- Jecture, Dr. Winifred Whitman of Johns Hopkins Uni- versity has been collaborating with the trio of physicists on this aspect of the problem. As she happens to be Dr. Tuve's wife, she will probably see to it that he does not run unneces- for short periods and it Is not necessary e remain close to the apparatus during this time, Fortunately, also, scientists are sublimely non~ chalant about the danger they run. The tific thrill to be had from the atomic trials that have kept these experimen sorbed for six years now outweighs all siderations in their minds, Now and again this tense enthusiasm up in their conversation: they are having exciting time cn their atomic adventure a are rather bewildered to find that their work should suddenly become the center of public at- tention. Dr. Tuve’s recent success marks a stage & study which has been in progress for more than four years. Nature guards her secrets so well that these are revealed usually only upom carefully organized attack, which in many in- stances irvolves the co-operation of agencies as well as of various investigators. This work in the development of high voltages became associated with Dr. Gregory Breit whe was in charge of the experimental work of the department in atomic physics and high veol- It was through the combined efforts ef Dr. Breit, himself a brillilant investigator in this field, Dr. Tuve, and other members-of the staft detalled to assist them that the foundatiom was laid for what has proved to be an achieve- ment of great promise. Two years ago Dr. Brelt was sent to Europe for a time to study with Old World scientists who have conducted brilliané studies in the nature and properties of the atom. Dr. Tuve remained to continue and carry to practical results the work which both had begun together at Washington, It can now be announced that Dr. Breit, whe for the past two years has been with the New York University, is returning to Carnegie Insti- tution. It is expected that these two brillians associates, and their able colleagues, will con- tinue the theoretical and experimental investi- gations of atomic physics, so well begun, to stil} AN explosion that might wreck this egrner of the universe is another possibility oon- tained in this pioneering research, partica™rly of the three Washington scientists. They plsa to produce the most powerful projectiles evee launched by human ingenuity, They plan te attack the heart of matter itself, the atomie nucleus. They will bombard it with very speedy, hydrogen atom hearts, broth&’s in radiation te the alpha rays from radium. This may tap the integral energy of the atom. Startling consequences may be forthcoming 1§ direct hits are scored upon the atomic nucleus in such a way as to change the atomic heary into & new kind of atom, provided certain scien< tific theories are correct. Immense amounts of energy might be liberated. This would attack other atoms and set up & chain of explosions, growing in violence until there would be g new star in this part of the heawgas. R