"The decay of the activity of polonium with time has led to the view that polonium is not a new active substance, but merely active bismuth, i.e. bismuth which in some way had been made active by admixture with radio-active bodies. The activity of any product is not necessarily a proof that a radio-element is present, for it has been shown that many inactive elements become active by association with active matter. The activity of these substances, when removed from the active element, is however only transient, and decays gradually with the time. This activity is not due to the presence of the radio-element itself. For example, barium separated from radium is strongly active, although the spectroscopic examination shows no trace of the radium lines."
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Radio-activity
Radio-activity is a book written in 1904 (a 2nd edition was published in 1905) by Ernest Rutherford. This was the year prior to Albert Eistein's paper on the special theory of relativity would be published. The following quotes are from the 1st edition of Radio-activity, unless otherwise noted. Rutherford's theory of radioactivity was initially opposed by Pierre Curie, who believed, due to conservation of energy concerns, that radioactive substances causing the energy to be produced from the env
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