10 0. B. FAWSITT. 



It has been pointed out (16) that in the gaseous stars of 

 highest temperature hydrogen and helium predominate, 

 while in cooler stars there is no helium but oxygen, carbon, 

 silicon, magnesium, manganese, calcium, iron, and other 

 metals. One interpretation of this is that these elements — 

 magnesium, manganese and so on — have arisen from 

 elements of lower atomic weight and not from those of 

 higher atomic weight. 



Although it is suggested above that elements at present 

 considered stable may be changing excessively slowly into 

 others, there is no real proof that such is the case. The 

 atom of an element like oxygen might be changing very 

 slowly into carbon, but it would be impossible at present 

 to accelerate this rate so as to make it evident, because 

 there does not appear to be any method offering at present 

 of altering the rate of decomposition of these which are 

 unstable and decompose at a measurable rate. Even 

 although oxygen atoms were ordinarily quite stable, the 

 question arises as to whether instability could be caused 

 in any way, This problem seems as hard of solution as the 

 problem of accelerating the instability. 



Transmutation of Elements. 

 Experiments undertaken by the late Sir William Ramsay 

 and others to try and transmute the more stable elements 

 by bringing these into contact with radium salts, are usually 

 now not considered to have given positive results from 

 which definite conclusions could be drawn, although at the 

 time the results of these experiments were first described* 

 transmutation by this contact process appeared to have 

 some foundation in fact, and less surprise was manifested 

 by chemists than might have been expected. 



Utilisation of Atomic Energy. 

 Sir Charles Parsons in his British Association address in 

 1919 has drawn attention to the desirability of harnessing 



