THE 



AMER1CANJ0URNAL0FSCIENCE 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 



Akt. VIII. — On the Properties of a Radio active Gas found 

 in the Soil and Water near New Haven ; by H. A. Bum- 

 stead and L. P. Wheeler. 



In the October number of this Journal, the writers pub- 

 lished a brief note concerning a radio-active gas which had 

 been found in the surface water near New Haven, in the 

 course of some experiments which had been undertaken at the 

 request of Professor J. J. Thomson. It was stated that the 

 gas obtained from water had the same properties as that which 

 was drawn from a few feet below the surface of the ground ; 

 and that both these gases, so far as the experi- 1 



ments had gone at that time, seemed to be 

 identical with the gaseous emanation from 

 radium discovered by Dorn. The purpose of 

 the following investigation was a more care- 

 ful and direct comparison of these "natural" 

 radio-active gases with the radium emanation, 

 in order to find out whether they contained 

 a small proportion of some other active con- 

 stituent. 



As in Professor Thomson's experiments, the 

 gas was obtained from the water by boiling and, 

 as it was, at best, rather feebly radio-active, it 

 was desirable to prevent its dilution with air as 

 much as possible. The method finally used 

 is sufficiently indicated in fig. 1, and proved 

 to be very convenient. It was suggested by 

 Professor W. G. Mixter, to whom we are also indebted 

 for several other valuable suggestions and for many kind- 

 nesses. The earlier tests of the gas were made by means 



A.M. Jour. Sci. — Fourth Series, Yol. XVII, No. 98. — February, 1904. 

 7 



