involved in the Formation of Complex Atoms. 



729 



When a radioactive element ejects an alpha particle, the 

 new element lies two groups to the left in the periodic table, 

 and therefore has an atomic number and a valency with 

 values two less than before. Since this relation holds in 

 regard to the elements of high atomic weight, it seems not 

 unlikely that it may hold for the low atomic weight elements. 

 If this is true, by beginning with helium and adding a weight 

 of four — one helium atom — ^for each step of two atomic 

 numbers, the atomic weights should be very closely deter- 

 mined. This gives 



Atomic number even = 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 

 Atomic number odd = 7 11 15 19 23 27 31 35 



which are, on the whole, the correct atomic weights. 

 Table I. gives the proposed structure of the first 26 elements 

 of the periodic table. It will be noticed that there is a great 

 regularity in the number of hydrogen atoms, H 3 , which 

 must be included to give the atomic weights of the elements 

 of odd atomic number. 



Table I. — A Symbolical Representation of the Atomic 

 Weights of the Elements in the first three Series of 

 the Periodic Table. 



H = l-0078. 





0. 



1. 



2. 3. 



4. 



5. 



6. 



7. 



8. 



Ser. 2. 

 Theor. 

 Det.... 



Ser. 3. 

 Theor. 

 Det.... 



He 

 He 



4-00 

 4-00 



Li 



He4-H 3 



7-00 



694 



Be 



2He-f-H 



90 



91 



B 



2He-f-H 3 

 110 

 11-0 



O 

 3He 



12 00 

 12-00 



N 

 3He+H 

 1400 " 

 1401 



O 

 4He 

 16-00 

 IB 00 



F 



4He-t-H 3 



19-00 



19-00 





Ne 

 5He 

 200 

 200 



Na 



5He + H 3 



230 



230 



Mg 

 6He 

 24 00 

 2432 



Al 



6He4-H 3 



270 



271 



Si 

 7He 

 28 

 283 



P 



7He-fH 3 

 3100 

 3102 



V 



12He + H 3 

 510 

 51-0 



S 

 8He 

 32-00 

 32-07 



CI 



SHe + H 3 



35 00 



35-46 





Ser. 4. 

 Theor. 

 Det.... 



A 



lOHe 

 40-0 

 399 



K 



9He + H 3 

 3900 

 3910 



Ca 

 lOHe 

 4000 

 40 07 



So 

 HHe 

 44-0 

 441 



Ti 

 12He 

 48-0 

 481 



Or 

 13He 

 52 

 520 



Mn 



13He + H 3 



5500 



54 93 



Pe 

 14He 

 56-00 

 55-84 



Oo 



14He4-H 3 



59-00 



58-97 



Increment from Series 2 to Series 3 = 4He. 



Increment from Series 3 to Series 4 = 5He (4He for K and Oa). 



Increment from Series 4 to Series 5 = 6He. 



An examination of this table shows that the elements in 

 even-numbered groups, and therefore probably the radioactive 

 elements giving off alpha particles on disintegration, are 



Phil. Mag. S. 6. Vol. 30. No. 179. Nov. 1915. 3 B 



