large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_01_asimov_64kb_154
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_01_asimov_64kb
English
12904
They carried a positive electric charge that was twice as great as the electron's negative charge. THEY CARRIED A POSITIVE CHARGE THAT WAS TWICE AS GREAT AS THE ELECTRON'S NEGATIVE CHARGE
 no charge at all. The New Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) called the first two kinds of radiation “alpha rays” and “beta rays”, after the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. The third was soon called “gamma rays” after the third letter. [Illustration: _Ernest Rutherford_] [Illustration: _Marie Curie and her two daughters, Eve (left) and Irene, in 1908._] [Illustration: _Pierre Curie during a class lecture in 1906, the year of his death._] The gamma rays eventually turned out to be another light-like form of radiation, with waves even shorter than those of X rays. The alpha rays and beta rays, which carried electric charges, seemed to be streams of charged particles (“alpha particles” and “beta particles”) just as the cathode rays had turned out to be. In 1900, indeed, Becquerel studied the beta particles and found them to be identical in mass and charge with electrons. They _were_ electrons. By 1906 Rutherford had worked out the nature of the alpha particles. DIDN'T SWERVE AT ALL BUT MOVED ON IN A STRAIGHT LINE THE CONCLUSION WAS THAT URANIUM AND THORIUM GAVE OFF THREE KINDS OF RADIATION ONE CARRIED A POSITIVE CHARGE OF ELECTRICITY ONE A NEGATIVE CHARGE AND ONE NO CHARGE AT ALL THE NEW ZEALAND BORN PHYSICIST ERNEST RUTHERFORD EIGHTEEN SEVENTY ONE NINETEEN THIRTY SEVEN CALLED THE FIRST TWO KINDS OF RADIATION ALPHARAS AND BATAYS AFTER THE FIRST TWO LETTERS OF THE GREEK ALPHABET THE THIRD WAS SOON CALLED GAMAREZ AFTER THE THIRD LETTER THE GAMARES EVENTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE ANOTHER LIGHT LIKE FORM OF RADIATION WITH WAVES EVEN SHORTER THAN THOSE OF X RAYS THE ALPHA RAYS AND BATEER RAYS WHICH CARRIED ELECTRIC CHARGES SEEMED TO BE STREAMS OF CHARGED PARTICLES ALPHA PARTICLES AND BATELES JUST AS THE CATHODE RAYS HAD TURNED OUT TO BE IN NINETEEN HUNDRED INDEED BECARRAL STUDIED THE BATELES AND FOUND THEM TO BE IDENTICAL IN MASS AND CHARGE WITH ELECTRONS THEY WERE ELECTRONS BY NINETEEN O SIX RUTHERFORD HAD WORKED OUT THE NATURE OF THE ALPHA PARTICLES
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