﻿Radium-Content 
  of 
  Sea 
  Water. 
  397 
  

  

  appears 
  to 
  have 
  misquoted 
  his 
  own 
  earlier 
  results. 
  In 
  his 
  

   paper 
  o£ 
  Feb. 
  1907 
  * 
  he 
  gives 
  his 
  result 
  on 
  Atlantic 
  water 
  as 
  

   0*3 
  and 
  on 
  sea-salt 
  as 
  0*6. 
  These 
  figures 
  he 
  interchanges 
  in 
  

   his 
  last 
  paper. 
  When 
  correction 
  is 
  made 
  for 
  this 
  we 
  find 
  that 
  

   among 
  seven 
  experiments 
  on 
  Atlantic 
  water 
  only 
  he 
  obtains 
  

   variations 
  ranging 
  from 
  0*3 
  to 
  1*5. 
  Thus 
  all 
  reported 
  results 
  

   agree 
  in 
  showing 
  that 
  wide 
  differences 
  in 
  radium-content 
  

   are 
  observed 
  in 
  samples 
  of 
  water 
  from 
  various 
  localities. 
  

   I 
  have 
  presentl}^ 
  to 
  quote 
  instances 
  of 
  even 
  more 
  striking 
  

   variations. 
  

  

  Early 
  in 
  my 
  observations 
  upon 
  this 
  subject 
  I 
  sought 
  to 
  find 
  

   if 
  the 
  variations 
  also 
  obtaining 
  from 
  one 
  test 
  to 
  another 
  of 
  

   the 
  same 
  sample, 
  might 
  not 
  throw 
  light 
  upon 
  the 
  diflPerences 
  

   from 
  sample 
  to 
  sample 
  ; 
  the 
  possibility 
  suggesting 
  itself 
  to 
  

   me 
  that 
  these 
  latter 
  might 
  only 
  be 
  apparent 
  and 
  really 
  

   dependent 
  upon 
  the 
  conditions 
  attending 
  the 
  liberation 
  of 
  the 
  

   emanation. 
  The 
  fact 
  of 
  variations 
  in 
  successive 
  tests 
  and 
  

   the 
  conditions 
  controlling 
  these 
  variations 
  became, 
  therefore, 
  

   of 
  special 
  interest, 
  and 
  I 
  sought 
  by 
  altering 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  

   experiment 
  to 
  investigate 
  the 
  circumstances 
  affecting 
  the 
  

   liberation 
  of 
  the 
  emanation. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  my 
  experiments 
  that 
  where 
  

   conditions 
  of 
  acidification 
  by 
  hydrochloric 
  acid 
  vary, 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  variations 
  in 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  liberated 
  emanation 
  

   may 
  arise, 
  more 
  especially 
  where 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  concentration 
  

   of 
  the 
  sample. 
  But 
  where 
  the 
  acidification 
  and 
  other 
  treat- 
  

   ment 
  remain 
  unchanged 
  the 
  variation 
  from 
  one 
  test 
  to 
  another 
  

   is, 
  in 
  general, 
  relatively 
  small. 
  The 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  acidification 
  

   is 
  to 
  increase 
  the 
  quantity 
  of 
  emanation 
  liberated, 
  but 
  beyond 
  

   a 
  certain 
  degree 
  of 
  acidification 
  small 
  additions 
  of 
  acid 
  seem 
  

   ineffective 
  in 
  producing 
  further 
  change. 
  Dr. 
  Eve''s 
  mode 
  

   of 
  tabulating 
  my 
  earlier 
  results 
  does 
  not 
  bring 
  out 
  the 
  

   change 
  of 
  conditions. 
  Thus 
  under 
  the 
  heading 
  " 
  With 
  HCl 
  '' 
  

   he 
  cites 
  a 
  difference 
  of 
  reading 
  of 
  2*0 
  and 
  14' 
  6 
  obtained 
  on 
  

   the 
  same 
  sample 
  ; 
  there 
  is 
  nothing 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  here 
  the 
  first 
  

   reading 
  was 
  obtained 
  on 
  a 
  sea 
  water 
  concentrated 
  from 
  

   2500 
  CCS. 
  and 
  acidified 
  with 
  only 
  10 
  ccs. 
  of 
  HCl 
  while 
  the 
  

   second 
  reading 
  was 
  obtained 
  after 
  the 
  acidification 
  had 
  been 
  

   increased 
  to 
  60 
  ccs. 
  So 
  also 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  variation 
  from 
  

   19*3 
  to 
  27"3 
  obtained 
  upon 
  another 
  sample. 
  The 
  greatest 
  

   variation 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  as 
  yet 
  noticed 
  in 
  successive 
  boilings, 
  

   where 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  difference 
  of 
  treatment, 
  is 
  from 
  4'4 
  

   to 
  8'0. 
  This 
  was 
  on 
  an 
  unconcentrated 
  sea 
  water. 
  The 
  

   general 
  fact 
  of 
  variations 
  from 
  test 
  to 
  test, 
  even 
  under 
  similar 
  

  

  * 
  Phil. 
  Mag. 
  Feb. 
  1907. 
  

  

  