CHAPTER VII. MODERN ALCHEMY 117

§ 85. “Modern Alchemy” 117 § 86. X-Rays and Becquerel Rays 117 § 87. The Discovery of Radium 118 § 88. Chemical Properties of Radium 119 § 89. The Radioactivity of Radium 120 § 90. The Disintegration of the Radium Atom 122 § 91. “Induced Radioactivity” 123 § 92. Properties of Uranium and Thorium 123 § 93. The Radium Emanation 124 § 94. The Production of Helium from Emanation 125 § 95. Nature of this Change 127 § 96. Is this Change a true Transmutation? 128 § 97. The Production of Neon from Emanation 130 § 98. Ramsay’s Experiments on Copper 132 § 99. Further Experiments on Radium and Copper 134 § 100. Ramsay’s Experiments on Thorium and allied Metals 134 § 101. The Possibility of Making Gold 136 § 102. The Significance of “Allotropy” 136 § 103. Conclusion 142

LIST OF PLATES

PLATE 1. Portrait of Paracelsus _Frontispiece_

TO FACE PAGE

PLATE 2. Symbolical Illustration representing the Trinity of Body, Soul and Spirit 15

PLATE 3. Symbolical Illustrations representing-- (A) The Fertility of the Earth } 26 (B) The Amalgamation of Mercury and Gold }

PLATE 4. Symbolical Illustrations representing-- (A) The Coction of Gold-Amalgam in a Closed Vessel } 33 (B) The Transmutation of the Metals }

PLATE 5. Alchemistic Apparatus-- (A) (B) Two forms of apparatus for sublimation 37

PLATE 6. Alchemistic Apparatus-- (A) An Athanor } 38 (B) A Pelican }

PLATE 7. Portrait of Albertus Magnus 44

PLATE 8. Portraits of-- (A) Thomas Aquinas } 52 (B) Nicolas Flamel }

PLATE 9. Portraits of-- (A) Edward Kelley } 68 (B) John Dee }

PLATE 10. Portrait of Michael Maier 72

PLATE 11. Portrait of Jacob Boehme 74

PLATE 12. Portraits of J. B. and F. M. van Helmont 76

PLATE 13. Portrait of J. F. Helvetius 84

PLATE 14. Portrait of “Cagliostro” 92

PLATE 15. Portrait of Robert Boyle 94

PLATE 16. Portrait of John Dalton 100

TABLE SHOWING THE PERIODIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS Pages 106, 107

ALCHEMY:

ANCIENT AND MODERN