Abstract
Whilst investigating the relationship between X-rays (Chapter 6) and fluorescence in 1896, Becquerel accidentally found that a photographic plate was blackened when a uranium compound was placed near it. Careful investigation showed that this property had no relation to fluorescence or to X-rays, but is a property of the element uranium itself. It is now known to be due to radioactivity in which the uranium gives out radiations spontaneously, and these appear to be independent of the physical or chemical condition of the uranium. The rays, like X-rays, can pass through opaque objects and also enable the air to conduct electricity.
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© 1979 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Littlefield, T.A., Thorley, N. (1979). Natural Radioactivity. In: Atomic and Nuclear Physics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1470-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1470-7_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-442-30190-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-1470-7
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