﻿Positive 
  Rays. 
  

  

  G87 
  

  

  careful 
  scrutiny 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  given 
  ? 
  The 
  second 
  question 
  

   is 
  more 
  easily 
  answered 
  than 
  the 
  first, 
  for 
  these 
  doublets 
  

   being 
  uncharged 
  would 
  not 
  possess 
  the 
  properties 
  which 
  

   make 
  the 
  positive 
  rays 
  or 
  the 
  cathode 
  rays 
  so 
  noticeable 
  ; 
  

   thus 
  they 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  deflected 
  by 
  uniform 
  magnetic 
  or 
  

   electric 
  fields, 
  and 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  charge 
  might 
  involve 
  

   also 
  a 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  producing 
  luminosity 
  when 
  they 
  

   pass 
  through 
  a 
  gas, 
  and 
  thus 
  render 
  them 
  invisible. 
  With 
  

   regard 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  question 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  some 
  preliminary 
  

   experiments, 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  which 
  suggest 
  the 
  existence 
  in 
  

   the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  cathode 
  of 
  neutral 
  systems, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  

   doublets 
  which 
  dissociate 
  into 
  corpuscles 
  and 
  positive 
  ions. 
  

   The 
  arrangement 
  used 
  in 
  these 
  experiments 
  is 
  represented 
  in 
  

  

  fig. 
  8. 
  

  

  Fisr. 
  8. 
  

  

  y 
  

  

  > 
  

  

  The 
  . 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  experiment 
  was 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  If 
  the 
  

   secondary 
  cathode 
  rays 
  are 
  produced 
  from 
  the 
  primary 
  

   without 
  the 
  intervention 
  of 
  the 
  neutral 
  doublet 
  stage, 
  then, 
  

   as 
  the 
  secondary 
  ionization 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  secondary 
  cathode 
  

   rays, 
  a 
  strong 
  electric 
  field, 
  arranged 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  stop 
  the 
  

   negative 
  corpuscles 
  forming 
  the 
  secondary 
  cathode 
  rays, 
  

   ought 
  to 
  act 
  as 
  a 
  complete 
  screen 
  against 
  this 
  ionization. 
  

   If, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  intermediate 
  stage 
  between 
  

   the 
  primary 
  and 
  secondary 
  rays, 
  and 
  if 
  this 
  stage 
  consists 
  

   of 
  neutral 
  doublets, 
  then 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  ought 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  

   get 
  through 
  the 
  strong 
  electric 
  field, 
  if 
  this 
  is 
  quite 
  close 
  

   to 
  the 
  primary 
  rays, 
  because 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  those 
  secondary 
  rays 
  

   which 
  are 
  produced 
  from 
  the 
  doublets 
  whilst 
  the 
  latter 
  are 
  

   passing 
  through 
  the 
  field 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  stopped 
  ; 
  the 
  doublets 
  

   themselves 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  stopped, 
  and 
  if 
  they 
  last 
  long 
  enough 
  

   to 
  get 
  through 
  the 
  field 
  they 
  ought 
  to 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  ionization 
  

   on 
  the 
  other 
  side. 
  To 
  test 
  this 
  view 
  the 
  apparatus 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  in 
  fig. 
  7 
  was 
  used. 
  A 
  copious 
  supply 
  of 
  slowly 
  

  

  