according to the notation adopted by Mr. Rutherford, by the letters α, β, γ.
I. The α-rays are very slightly penetrating, and appear to constitute the principal part of the radiation. These rays are characterised by the laws by which they are absorbed by matter. The magnetic field acts very slightly upon them, and they were formerly thought to be quite unaffected by the action of this field. However, in a strong magnetic field, the α-rays are slightly deflected; the deflection is caused in the same manner as with cathode rays, but the direction of the deflection is reversed; it is the same as for the canal rays of the Crookes tubes.
II. The β-rays are less absorbable as a whole than the preceding ones. They are deflected by a magnetic field in the same manner and direction as cathode rays.
III. The γ-rays are penetrating rays, unaffected by the magnetic field, and comparable to Röntgen rays.
Consider the following imaginary experiment:—Some radium, r, is placed at the bottom of a small deep cavity,
Fig. 4.
hollowed in a block of lead, p (Fig. 4). A sheaf of rays, rectilinear and slightly expanded, streams from the receptacle. Let us suppose that a strong uniform magnetic field is established in the neighbourhood of the receptacle, normal to the plane of the figure and directed towards the back. The three groups of rays, α, β, γ, will now be separated. Then rather faint γ-rays continue in their straight path without a trace of deviation. The β-rays are deflected in the manner of cathode rays, and describe circular paths in the plane of the figure. If the receptacle is placed on a photographic plate, a c, the portion, b c, of the plate which receives the β-rays is acted upon. Lastly,
