Standish High School - Crimson Rambler Yearbook (Standish, ME)

Page 13 text:

ills! l ll Q fRADIUM . Not long ago an entirely new element was discovered called ra-A dium, because of the rays of radi- ation from it, which was destined to become one of the most useful of all elements and certainly the most wonderful. It is a metal closely resembling barium and in fact, what is sometimes called ra- dium is in reality the salt radium bromide.. Radium and all its salts are extremely radiocative, henceg the term radiocativity. Severalf otner elements have these same ra-. dioactive properties but all to at lesser degree. Numerous experi-Q ments show that this action isf caused by the spontaneous emissiong of two kinds of electrically. charged particles, called alpha and beta. The emission of betaf particles is accompanied by pulsa- tions in the ether called gamma rays. The fgamma rays have the lcasti ionizing and photographing power, but they are the most pene- trating. These rays exert a very powerful pressure on all living matter, and it has been thought that they would be useful in cur- ing various diseases. The results however, have not been as success- ful as was first hoped, but radium seems to be beneficial in treating certain kinds of cancer and simi- lar Qrowtns. It is very expensive because of its scarcity, and an ounce is said to cost approximate- ly 34,252,500 or pl50,000 per gram. A minute quantity of radium com- Secondly, radium compounds affect a photographic plate just as light does. If a tube contain- ing a radium compound is left a short time on a photographic plate wrapped in black paper, or even drawn slowly across it, an image is produced when the plate is de- veloped. Thirdly, radium compounds ionize the surrounding air, that is, make it a conductor of elec- tricity. And finally, radium compounds make certain substances luminous. Helium and radon are coming off continually from all radiu compounds independently ature and other conditions. Thus we conclude that the radium atom is disintegrating slowly and while disintegrating forms radio lead. This action cannot be hastened or retarded in any way. Of course this transformation means that radium is slowly disappearing, but there will be ages which we are unable to dream about before it entirely exhausts itself. of temper- This precious , element is found to a very slight degree in England, plentifully in Bohemia, Colorado, and Utah. There are rich deposits in the Belgian Congo district of Africa and in central Europe. pound is used when mixed with zincg sulphide to produce luminous watch,i We attribute this great die- clock, and instrument dials, push.geOVery to e Woman whe,.until re- bu?t0n?: dowr unumbefsa and elec' fcently, was little known, but the trlc llght Qhalns' :American people are desirous of . t ' , fknowing more about her, and I am Radlum Compounds have Speolal -sure that all of us are awaiting properties which are conspicuous- Qwith anxiety the .movie Seen te be ly different from those of most Iproduced entitled uMedame Curie u substances. One of these proper-Q ' ' ties is that radium compounds , Amy It Lewis spontaneously envolve considerable? 1957 heat. That is, one gram of pure radium salt gives off over cnet hundred calories of heat per hour,i , . cr it liberaties enough heat to raise a little more than its own I I lt is estimated that on an average an electric clock may Weighfi Of Water from the freezing run for lOO hours at a cost of point to the boiling point. OILS CGIITZ.

Page 15 text:

ELLCTRICITY IN MODERN LIFE Have you ever stopped Ztoththlnk of the innumerable benefitsw we derive from the generation and use of electricdty in various ways? Many of the conveniences -of our modern life would be lacking. Our homes would be lighted with gas or kerosene. Th6re. buld1be no radios to Bringfus awentertainment and the news of the world almost 1 OUR NATIONAL GAME . 'nBatter upu calls out the um- -nire,.,andythe.bal1- game Lis gen. From start to finish the two teams battle. The players bat, run, catch and err, while their team- imatesiyell out encouragementg the coaches coach and signal the play- ersg and the crowd keyed to its highest pitch cheers ' the two teams. Many times a year is this scene repeated in thousands of as soon as it happens.The housewifecities and villages. Because of would be forced to wash her clothes by handg ironing would be its great popularity baseball is called the national game of the a tedious job with the old-fashion-United States. ed irons. , Without electricity our modern factories could not produce goods in such huge quantities. Manufac- turers would Tbef forced' to' fuse painted signs instead of present day neon signs, made possible by the use of electricity. Our cities and towns would be lighted with gas, as they p.were back in the nineteenth century. Our street cars would be horse- drawn. There would be no electric trains and subways to carry us to our destinations, swiftly, smooth- ly, and economically. . Automobiles, if there were any, would be lighted with kerosene or carbide lamps, incomparable to the headlights on our modern cars that illuminate the road for three or four hundred feet. Electricity, that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable to which we hardly ever give thought is a major factor in our every day life. Joseph H. Mottershead 1956 Women make 902 of the attempts to' smuggle articles through the U. S. Customs. Snpw never falls on 70 Z of the earth's surface. Baseball originated 3-in the iyear 1839. Its originator was Abner Doubleday of Cooperstown, New York. From the so-called Hold daysu until today baseball has changed a little: then a baseball game used to last twenty-six Uroundsu or innings or until one team had scored sixty-five runsg today a regulation game lasts nine inningsg then the players wore ineither uniforms nor baseball glovesg no admission was chargedg there were no baseball associa- tions or baseball stadiums as is lthe case today. Then there were thirteen players on each side, now there are only nine. There are many baseball asso- ciations todayg the high-school leaguesg the minor leaguesg and the major leagues, consisting of the American League and the Na- tional League. y Each year there are two base- ball classics: the All-Star Game nd the World Series. The All- Etar Game is played between the stars of the American and National leagues. In the four games that iave been played the American league All-Stars have been the more successful, winning three of them. The World Series is a greater classic than the All-Star Game. champions of the play the champions League. The pteam first four games Each year the American League ipf the National that wins the