Transmutation of Silver ; Gold can be manufactured from other elements

Br Dan Izzo

2004-09-01 13:22:49 UTC

Gold can be manufactured from other elements by several methods. The
penultimate means of transmutation is the Philosophers' Stone of any
degree, but that is another matter altogether. The transmutation of
silver to gold is perhaps the easiest -- or least difficult -- of such
experiments. more below,

First:
Transmutation of Lead into Created 10kt gold coins

notice, Silver is better , cleaner and safer for human health.

issue created gold certificates, from transmutated lead metal.

Facts on Lead Metal and its Transmutation into Gold

(1) Lead metal has 82 protons & electrons and contains Gold in it
already.

Lead is the ONLY METAL that can be the STANDARD WEIGHT as 10kt Gold (
that is semi safe to use )

(2) Lead metal will transmutate into Gold when bombarded with a source
of neutrons.

(3) It is alleged that Lead naturally transmutes into Gold over
millions of years within a vein of quartz chrystals and the piezo
electric effect interaction,
like coal into diamonds.

(4) Certain compounds when added to lead metal , will turn lead into
golden color, see " yellow lead "
" naples yellow " ( a gold color ) and see the golden lead chrystal, "
Vanadinite ."

(5) Being the only metal suitable as the Standard Weight as 10kt gold,
lead can be easily transmuted into $100 US Created Gold Coins for the
US Mint and its $100 Created Gold certificates and if a layer of real
10kt gold covers the created gold coin, it will be safe for people to
handle.

(6) Lead is decayed uranium.

If the Federal Reserve, US Mint and Treasury needs a Modern Alchemist
please let me know, I would like to work on this project for the US
government because money ends suffering.

" Therefore buy of me gold refined in the fire " God rev 3:18
Because Money Ends Suffering.

May God Bless You
Yours Faithfully
Rev Daniel Izzo BA/ MS science researcher inventor
512 Onondaga Ave
Syracuse, NY 13207

/ nae pulls yel low /
Naples yellow

1. Overview

2. History of use

3. Making the pigment

4. Technical details

Brief description of Naples yellow:

One of the oldest synthetic pigments with very good hiding
power and good chemical stability.
Names for Naples yellow:

Pronounciation:
nae pulls yel low

Alternative names:

Lead antimonate yellow

Non-English names:

German

French

Italian

Neapelgelb, Bleiantimonat

jaune d'antimoine

giallo di Napoli

Chemical name:
Lead(II)-antimonate

A painted swatch of Naples yellow:

Source of Naples yellow:

Natural mineral:

bindheimite

identical with the mineral bindheimite (at Mineralogy Database)

Other yellows
(intro) - - cadmium yellow - chrome yellow - Cobalt yellow - Indian
yellow
lead tin yellow - Lemon yellow - Naples yellow - Orpiment - Orpiment -
Yellow ochre

Sections: purples blues greens yellows oranges
reds whites browns blacks

Look for:

webexhibits.org/pigments - Credits & Feedback - Bibliography

rexresearch.com
Table of Contents ~ Home ~ Catalog ~ Links ~ Order

Adept Alchemy by
Robert A. Nelson Part II ~ Chapter 1 Transmutations of Silver

Gold can be manufactured from other elements by several methods. The
penultimate means of transmutation is the Philosophers' Stone of any
degree, but that is another matter altogether. The transmutation of
silver to gold is perhaps the easiest -- or least difficult -- of such
experiments. If nothing else, the attempt may serve to enlighten
aspiring souffleurs ("Puffers", an old French alchemical label for
deluded fools who pump their bellows in vain) to wise up, get a life,
and do something more worthwhile, profitable, and less dangerous.
Employing the methods developed by Francois Jollivet-Castelot,
however, there is every chance of success, albeit at great risk due to
the use of arsenic. It has been argued by some purists that
transmutations such as these are not alchemy at all, but rather
"hyper-chemistry" or "archymy". Mayhap so, but I choose to include
these factoids in this collection. Most of the 19th and 20th century
experimenters in this genre used a variety of "wet" techniques
(refluxing with nitric acid, etc.), or "dry" transmutations with
alloys in the furnace. Dr. Stephen Emmens used high-pressure hammering
(500 tons/sq. in.) of silver at low temperature, followed by fluxing,
granulation, more hammering, treatment with "modified nitric acid",
and refining. (1) T. Tiffereau
(2) R. Hunter
(3) A. Waite
(4) Fulcanelli
(5) F. Jollivet-Castelot
(6) S. Emmens
(7) C. Lea
(8) References

(1) Theodore Tiffereau ~ Between 1854-55, Theodore Tiffereau
submitted six memoirs to the French Academie des Sciences concerning
transmutations of silver to gold. He published a compilation of the
papers ( Les Metaux sont des Corps Composes ) in 1855.(25-27)
Tiffereau conducted his experiments at considerable expense while
supporting himself making daguerotypes in Mexico. Tiffereau claimed
that Mexican silver possesses peculiar qualities that lend to its
augmentation as gold (Dr. Emmens also used Mexican silver in his
work). While he claimed success in principle, he made no capital
gains. Tiffereau demonstrated his process at the French Mint in Paris
before the assayer M. Levol, but the results were unsatisfactory.
Tiffereau attempted many modifications of his techniques, and claimed
that certain experimental conditions influence the transmutation of
silver to gold: 1) Pure silver filings were used, sometimes mixed with
pure copper filings (Ag 9:1 Cu) and traces of zinc, iron, alumina and
silica; 2) Trace amounts of gold catalyze the reaction; 3) The silver
was refluxed with concentrated nitric acid, hyponitrous acid, and
nitrogen protozide or deuteroxide; 4) Concentrated sulfuric acid was
used at times; 5) The acids were exposed to sunlight to "solarize"
them. Tiffereau complained that the French sun was not so effective as
the Mexican; 6) Halides and sulfur in the presence of oxides of
nitrogen improved the reaction, and so did ozone; 7) Prolonged
reaction time increased yields. Tiffereau attributed the production of
gold in the earth to the action of the "microbe of gold". This was
confirmed in the 1980s by the discovery that placer gold nuggets form
around a nucleus of bacillus cereus. The following experiment is
typical of Tiffereau's general methods: "After having exposed, over
two days, pure nitric acid to the action of solar rays, I added pure
silver filings with pure copper filings in the proportions of the
alloy of money (9:1). A lively reaction manifested, accompanied with a
very abundant deposit of intact filings agglomerated in a mass. "The
disengagement of nitrous gas continued without interruption, and I
left the liquid as is over twelve days. I noted that the aggregate
deposit was augmented sensibly in volume. I then added a little water
to the dissolution in which the product had precipitated, and again
abandoned the liquid to rest five days. During this time, new vapors
unceasingly disengaged. "The five days having passed, I raised the
liquid just to ebullition, which I maintained until the nitrous vapors
ceased disengagement, after which I evaporated it to dryness. "The
matter obtained from the dessication is dry, dull, blackish-green; it
did not offer an appearance of crystallization... "Placing the matter
again in pure nitric acid and boiling six hours, I saw the matter
become clear green without ceasing to aggregate in small masses. I
added a new quantity of pure concentrated nitric acid and boiled it
anew; it is then that I finally saw the disaggregated matter take the
brilliance of natural gold... [The third test in this series]
"presented an extraordinary phenomenon to be noted: the quantity of
the alloy that I used experienced a transformation entirely to pure
gold." Carey Lea suggested that Tiffereau and other experimenters had
merely prepared a gold-colored form of allotropic silver.

(2) R. M. Hunter ~ In 1908, Sir Henry Baskerville made mention of a
contemporary claim to the production of artificial gold: "Among the
many communications reaching the writer, one is of more than passing
interest. Mr. R.M. Hunter, of Philadelphia, has written concerning
'synthetic gold' as follows: "I have so perfected the process that in
my judgment, based on my actual experience, gold may be manufactured
at enormous profit, and to this end I have designed a plant to be
erected in Philadelphia and am at this moment negotiating for $500,000
capital for its erection. I realize that the public and most
scientific men are adverse to the belief in the possibility of such an
enterprise, but I know what I am doing and can afford to allow public
sentiment to follow its own course. "Enclosed with the letter was an
affirmative affadavit. On request, Mr. Hunter promptly forwarded me
samples of silver in which the gold is 'growing' and some 'grown-up'
gold, said to have been produced by his secret process. I have not
made analyses of the samples." (5)

(3) Arthur E. Waite ~ The eminent occultist Arthur E. Waite wrote A
Collection of Alchymical Processes which includes a segment entitled
"Silver Transmuted Into Gold By The Action Of Light": "In the focus of
a Burning-Glass, 12 inches in diameter, place a glass Flask, 2 inches
in diameter, containing Nitric Acid, diluted with its own volume of
water: "Pour into the Nitric Acid, alternately, small quantities of a
Solution of Nitrate of Silver and of Muriatic acid, the object being
to cause the Chloride of Silver to form a minutely divided state, so
as to produce a milky fluid, into the interior of which the brilliant
convergent cone may pass, and the currents generated in the Flask by
the Heat may so drift all the Chloride through the Light. "The
Chloride, if otherwise exposed to the Sun, merely blackens on the
surface, the interior parts undergoing no change: This difficulty,
therefore, has to be avoided. The Burning-Glass promptly brings on a
decomposition of the salt, evolving, on the one hand, Chlorine, and
disengaging a metal on the other. Supposing the experiment to last two
or three entire hours, the effect will then be equal to a continuous
midday sun of some 72 hours. The Metal becomes disengaged very well.
But what is it? It cannot be silver, since Nitric acid has no action
on it. It burnishes in an Agate Mortar, but its reflection is not like
that of silver, for it is yellowish, like that of Gold. "The Light
must therefore have so transmuted the original silver as to enable it
to exist in the presence of Nitric Acid." ( 28)

(4) Fulcanelli ~ The renowned master Fulcanelli published this
transmutation of silver in Les Demeures Philosophales: "The simplest
alchemic procedure consists in utilizing the effect of violent
reactions --- those of acids on the bases --- to provoke in the midst
of the effervesence the reunion of pure parts, their new arrangement
being irreducible. In this manner, starting from a metal close to gold
--- preferably silver --- it is possible to produce a small quantity
of the precious metal. Here is, in this order of research, an
elementary operation whose success we guarantee, providing the
instructions are carefully followed. "Empty into a glass retort, tall
and tubular, one-third of its capacity in pure nitric acid. Adapt to
the receiver an escape tube and arrange the apparatus in a sand bath.
"Gently heat the apparatus short of reaching the boiling point for the
acid (83o C). Turn off the fire, open the tube, and introduce a small
portion of virgin silver, or of cupel, free from gold traces. When the
emission of peroxide of azote has stopped and when the effervesence
has quieted, let drop into the liquor a second portion of pure silver.
Repeat introducing metal, with no hurry, until the boiling and issuing
of red vapors manifest little energy, which is indicative of the
property of saturation. Add nothing more. Let it rest for half an
hour, then cautiously decant your clear solution into a beaker while
it is still warm. You will find a thin deposit in the form of black
sand. Wash this with lukewarm water, and let it fall into a small
porcelain capsule. You will recognize by making the assays that the
precipitate is insoluble in hydrochloric acid, just as it also is in
nitric acid. Aqua regia will dissolve it and yields a magnificent
yellow solution, exactly like gold trichloride. Use distilled water to
dilute this liquor; precipitate from a zinc blade. An amorphous powder
will be obtained, very fine, matte, of reddish brown coloration,
identical to that given by natural gold reduced in the same manner.
Wash well and dessicate this pulvurent precipitate. By compression on
a sheet of glass or marble, it will give you a brilliant, coherent
lamina with a beautiful yellow sheen by reflection, green by
transparence, having the look and superficial characteristics of the
purest gold. "To increase with a new quantity this miniscule deposit,
you may repeat the operation as many times as you please. In this
case, take up again the clear solution of silver nitrate diluted from
the first washing water; reduce the metal with zinc or copper. Decant
this silver into a powder and use it for your second dissolution."
(14)

(5) Francois Jollivet-Castelot ~ Francois Jollivet-Castelot was the
Secretary General (and later President) of the Alchemical Society of
France (founded in 1896). He also edited the Society's journal
L'Hyperchemie, and served as a special delegate of the Supreme Council
of Martinists. He authored several books and articles on alchemy and
"hyperchemistry", a system of non-occult chemical methods of
transmutation. (17-20) Jollivet-Castelot began experimenting with
transmutations of silver in 1908. In 1920, he published La Fabrication
Chimique de L'Or to report his successes using both "wet" and "dry"
methods of transmutation: "By means of catalytic action I have
succeeded in manufacturing gold chemically by acting on silver with
arsenic and antimony sulfides, tellurium, and tin. "This process gives
a very high yield which has already been confirmed by several
chemists, in particular by Mr. Ballandras, Chemical Engineer of Lyons,
and Mr. Outon, Chemical Engineer of Buenos Aires... "The object of the
present leaflet is to enable chemists to repeat and check my
experiments in their turn... "I made a mixture composed of 3 gr of
chemically pure silver and 1 gr of chemically pure orpiment and placed
it in 36o nitric acid for several months cold and then brought it to
ebullition. The liquid was kept at the boiling point for several days.
A small quantity of the material became detached at this moment and
formed a pulvurent black deposit. When no further action took place, I
decanted off the solution and collected the insoluble residue. This
residue was attacked by aqua regia at the boiling point until it was
almost completely dissolved; the liquor when decanted and filtered was
analyzed and gave all the characteristic reactions for gold....
[December 1925] "I acted on 22 gr of chemically pure silver ... and on
3.5 gr of chemically pure orpiment... The mixture was heated to about
1600o C In a metal smelting furnace for about three quarters of an
hour. The residue obtained was again melted with the addition of
orpiment. After having hammered for half an hour and remelted with the
addition of small quantities of orpiment every ten minutes, it was
withdrawn. "After cooling and the addition of chemically pure antimony
sulfide, it was again put back into the furnace, small quantities of
orpiment being thrown in every five minutes. The residue obtained had
a dark metallic tint. After hammering it became slightly golden. "The
residue dissolved in chemically pure 36o nitric acid first cold and
then hot, gave an abundant pulvurent deposit. This deposit after being
washed and treated with ammonia to dissolve the arsenic and antimony
salts was completely dissolved in aqua regia. The liquor then being
chlorinated and filtered was subjected to the reagents of platinum and
gold. Mr. Andre Vandenberghe who was acting as preparator for this
experiment, had thought that in accordance with the law of the
evolution of matter, the transmutation of bodies into gold should be
preceded or accompanied by their transmutation into platinum... "The
reactions of gold were quite characteristic; the reactions of platinum
also seemed to reveal its presence. "The quantity of gold obtained in
this experiment was about one gramme. "I submit the hypothesis that
the arsenic acts as a catalyst and the sulfur as a ferment in this
transmutation." (December 1925; Douai, France)... "As a sequel to my
previous work on the artificial synthesis of gold, I have introduced
tin into these new tests as it is also often associated with gold in
Nature. The following is a description of this new process, thanks to
which the percentage of gold obtained destroys all the objections that
are raised with regard to impurities. "I made an intimate mixture of 6
gr of chemically pure silver... 2 gr of antimony sulfide, 1 gr of
orpiment, and one gr of tin... I then added the usual fluxes and then
heated the whole in a crucible in the furnace to about 1100o C for
about one hour, twice adding a small quantity of SbS. "The residue
obtained was treated for a long time in 36o nitric acid, first cold
and then at the boiling point; the insoluble residue was next washed
with distilled water, treated with ammonia, washed again and finally
treated for a long time with boiling aqua regia. "The liquor when
filtered and subjected to the reagents of gold showed the presence of
this metal in the form of abundant deposits which may be estimated at
0.05 gr in all, which is very high considering the 6 gr of silver
employed. The deposits when collected and dried had a yellow green
metallic color and possessed all the characteristics of gold... "The
addition of tin to the other bodies has certainly facilitated the
reactions of the gold and increased the yield of this metal which can
be manufactured artificially by my process, i.e., by synthesis and in
measurable quantities. "It would be very easy to show that, given the
respective prices of gold and of the other substances that are used in
my process to produce it, a profit could be obtained if the process
were worked industrially, all the more so as the greater part of the
silver employed can be recovered at each test.. "I believe I now hold
the key to the regular and even industrial manufacture of gold. "But
the industrial question is voluntarily put aside from my thoughts, for
my only object is the search for pure scientific truth." In a
correspondence to Jollivet-Castelot, Mr. Ballandras reported on "How I
Succeeded In Making Gold According To The Process of Mr.
Jollivet-Castelot: Dosage of gold obtained by the second method":
"From a mixture of 10 gr silver, 3 gr of tin, 3 gr of arsenic sulfide,
and 3 gr of antimony sulfide, the residue which had been obtained was
crushed as much as possible and subjected to a treatment of pure
chloric acid like in the first method. However, in order to completely
eliminate the silver and the tin employed, I scrupled to begin again
the indicated treatments, that is as much to say that the powder which
was obtained having been subdued first to the action of azotic acid,
then washed with distilled water, then subdued to the action of
chloric acid, then washed with distilled water, then once more washed
with distilled water, and these different operations were begun once
again with another portion of pure chloric acid... The insoluble
residue was subdued to the prolonged action of aqua regia... "It must
be noted that this thing happened during the ebullition. The washed
residue contained the slighter part of gold; this thing would be found
dissolved in the last liquor which I obtained. "After 18 hours of
digestion at about 25o, I subdued the mixture to ebullition during 3
hours. After refrigeration, I filtered on glass wool and I looked if
parts were not drawn along in suspense. I found nothing. Then, I
decided to proceed to a circumstantial analysis of the liquor which I
obtained... "The quantity of gold which was obtained was 0.476 gr for
10 gr of silver employed, or 0.0476 gr of gold per gram of silver."
Jollivet-Castelot read this memorandum to the Academie Royal des
Sciences (Belgium) on June 6, 1926: "A Recent Experiment In
Transmutation --- All my research work on transmutation since 1908 has
started from the fact that gold is found in nature associated with
antimony and arsenic sulfides as well as with tellurium, which is
considered as a mineralizer of gold. I therefore considered that it
was logical to introduce tellurium into the artificial combination of
silver and arsenic and antimony sulfides that I make... "I prepared a
mixture composed of 6 gr of silver, 1 gr of native orpiment free of
gold, 1 gr of antimony sulfide and 2 gr of tellurium... I added pure
silica to the usual fluxes. This mixture was heated in the furnace in
the usual way for one hour at about 1100o C. The residue obtained was
of a blackish-grey color with violet reflections. It weighed 6.42
grams. "When subjected to the action of nitric acid, the residue was
attacked with difficulty and greenish metallic particles become
detached. The solution was then decanted and a greenish-yellow residue
remained which was kept at the boiling point of nitric acid for
several hours. After decanting off the liquor once again, the residue,
which had not changed, was washed, treated with ammonia and then
subjected to the action of boiling aqua regia in which it was entirely
dissolved after boiling for several hours. "[The solution was
chlorinated and subjected to the reagents of gold with positive
results, although] a certain amount of gold was certainly lost in this
test just as in all my previous tests, for it is known that arsenic,
antimony, and tellurium entrain gold in their fusion and their
volatilization. "In order to obviate this disadvantage, I had thought
of making the vapors of arsenic acid and antimony sulfides and of
tellurium act on the silver in fusion in a closed vessel by means of a
special device... "I consider it certain that if the vapors were
allowed to bubble through the melted silver, a much higher yield of
gold would be obtained than that I have obtained hitherto by an
imperfect and too rapid contact of the bodies in presence, while it is
undoubtedly necessary to make them react on one another in the vapor
state in a closed vessel." Mr. Louis Outon, a pharmaceutical chemist
in Buenos Aires, reported to Jollivet-Castelot in a letter (July 26,
1927): "Dear Sir... I have repeated the experiments... in my
laboratory and am amazed at the results. For the moment, it is only
the scientific side which interests me, since the cost of the gold
obtained is often greater than the value of the metal..." Mr. A.
Ballandras also replicated the experiments and reported the results:
"I will not conceal the fact that I have often heard ironical remarks
aboutprocesses by which he succeeded in manufacturing gold. I
determined to check his tests with the greatest possible accuracy...
"In a new quartz crucible, I placed 15 gr silver, 6 gr arsenic
sulfide, 6 gr antimony sulfide. The crucible was heated at a
temperature of 500o C and then for one hour and a half at 1100o C. At
this moment the mass was fairly liquid... The crucible was then
allowed to cool down. The reddish-brown residue obtained weighed
exactly 23.742 gr, or a loss of 3.258 grams. "I allowed this residue
to cool in pure nitric acid in which the greater part was dissolved
fairly easily. After prolonged boiling the liquor was filtered on a
new glass wool. The resultant liquor was very clear and absolutely
free of any particles. "The glass wool was then macerated in aqua
regia rich in hydrochloric; after 18 hours maceration, the whole was
boiled for 3 hours. I again filtered on glass wool in order to
separate any traces of the filter from the liquor... Any gold that
might have been obtained would necessarily be found in the last
liquor... It was of importance to prove its existence qualitatively at
least. "For this purpose, I tried the various standard reagents, the
results being the following: 1) Oxalic acid: flakey precipitate; 2)
Iron sulfate: glossy metallic black; 3) Tin chloride: peach pink
precipitate; 4) Formol: rather light bluish coloration; 5) Sodium
carbonate, potassium carbonate: light coloration after boiling; 6)
Sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide: yellowish coloration, cloudy.
"These reactions are sufficiently characteristic and clearly prove the
existence in the last liquor of a metal which, even if it is not gold,
must nevertheless be placed very close to the latter... the metal
obtained and gold must be perfectly isotopic. "I have repeated this
test several times and I have observed: 1) That the production of gold
is a function of the rapidity with which the necessary heat is
obtained; 2) That it is also a function of the degree of tightness of
the crucible. A crucible that is closed as tightly as possible gives
better results; 3) That the amount of gold obtained was not always
uniform; some of the tests were absolutely sterile and I inferred that
this was due to some defect in the mounting. "I think there must be a
certain temperature that should not be exceeded and that the external
conditions of pressure and electricity must be of considerable
importance." In another experiment, Ballandras used silver (10 gr),
tin (3 gr), orpiment (3 gr), and antimony sulfide (3 gr): "After
having operated as previously, I obtained a quantity of gold
corresponding to 0.05 gr per gram of silver employed... This I
consider to be a highly interesting result."

(6) Dr. Stephen Emmens ~ Early in 1897, the British chemist Stephen
H. Emmens, then residing in New York, announced the discovery of a new
element which fills the "vacant space existing in the sub-group of
Group I", and which he thought to be the intermediate matter from
which silver and gold are formed. Dr. Emmens said: "Our claim is that
the element in question is therefore neither silver nor gold, but
which may, by our new physical methods, be converted into gold." (14)
In 1897, Dr. Emmens' Argentaurum Laboratory on Staten Island produced
over 660 ounces of gold from silver and sold it to the U.S. Assay
Office. He revealed a few historical and technical details of his
transmutation process in his book, Argentaurum Papers #1: Some Remarks
Concerning Gravitation: "Our work, which converts silver into gold,
had its origin in the course of certain investigations which I
undertook for the purpose of preparing chemically pure nickel... in
1892. In attempting to prepare these pure metals [nickel and iron], a
certain product was obtained which seemed to differ from anything
recorded in the textbooks. The same product was subsequently found
when the investigation was extended to the case of metallic cobalt...
The phenomena observed afforded indications of the existence of some
substance common to the whole of the elements in what is known as
Series 4 of Group 8 of the classification of Chemical Elements... It
appeared to us almost self-evident that if we were right in supposing
a common substance to be present in any single series of elements, the
same would hold good for each group. "And as Group I of the
classification contains the precious metals --- gold and silver ~ it
was obvious that our time and attention should be directed to these
metals rather than to any other... "Our starting point, so far as
silver and gold were concerned, was afforded by the remarkable
discoveries of Mr. Carey Lea with regard to [colloidal silver]... It
was found that... this subdivision of metallic silver was attended by
very considerable changes in the physical properties of the
substance...By certain physical methods and by the aid of a certain
apparatus, we succeeded in bringing about a further subdivision of the
silver. We were not surprised to find that the substance obtained
differed so far from ordinary silver that it could no longer be
regarded as the same elementary substance. It seemed to require a new
name and a new chemical symbol. Inasmuch, therefore, as our theory was
that this substance was common to both gold and silver, and in reality
was the raw material out of which both gold and silver were
constructed by the hand of nature, we named the substance
Argentaurum... "The next step was to ascertain whether this substance
could be so treated as to be grouped into molecules of greater density
than those of silver... We found that... Argentaurum can be aggregated
into molecules having a density considerably superior to that of
ordinary gold molecules. Whether we are right as to this or not, the
condensed Argentaurum presents the appearance and is endowed with the
properties of ordinary metallic gold... "We do not consume any
chemicals and other costly materials in our process; what we use is
mainly energy in some of its various forms, such as heat, electricity,
magnetism, gravity, cohesion, chemical affinity, x-rays and the
like... Our chief source of expense is the time required for bringing
about the desired molecular changes... One ounce of silver will
produce three-quarters of an ounce of gold..." (6) Herbert Fyfe
reported that Dr. Emmens' process comprised five stages: 1) mechanical
treatment; 2) fluxing and granulation; 3) mechanical treatment; 4)
treatment with a "modified nitric acid", and 5) refining. Dr. Emmens
said: "I regard the mechanical treatment as the causa causans. The
fluxing and granulation serve, I think, merely to render the molecular
aggregate susceptible of displacement and rearrangement." (15) The
mechanical treatment was accomplished by means of Dr. Emmens' "Force
Engine", which exerted pressures in excess of 500 tons/in2 at very low
temperatures. Step 4, using "modified nitric acid", contradicts the
statement made elsewhere, that "we do not consume any chemicals... in
our process." (4, 7-12, 15, 16, 23) Dr. Emmens included a sample of
Argentaurum and these instructions in a letter (21 May 1897) to Sir
William Crookes: "Take a Mexican dollar and dispose it in an apparatus
which will prevent expansion or flow. Then subject it to heavy, rapid,
and continuous beating under conditions of cold such as to prevent
even a temporary rise of temperature when the blows are struck. Test
the material from hour to hour, and at length you will find more than
the trace (less than one part in 10,000) of gold which the dollar
originally contained." Sir Crookes was unable to replicate the
experiment to his satisfaction. He reported: "A specimen of
Argentaurum sent me by Dr. Emmens has been examined with the
spectrograph. It consists of gold with a fair proportion of silver and
a little copper. No lines belonging to any other known elements, and
no unknown lines, were detected." This analysis resembles that of
ordinary bullion gold, which contains silver and copper to make it
harder and more fusible than pure gold. In a rejoinder, Dr. Emmens
noted: "I have received a letter from a very eminent Fellow of the
Royal Society informing me that he has performed the crucial
experiment suggested in my letter of May 21, 1897, to Sir William
Crookes. The gold contained in the Mexican dollar after 40 hours of
intense cold and continuous hammering was found to be 20.9% more than
the quantity of gold contained in the same dollar before the test." In
1898, Emmens floated the Argentaurum Company, a syndicate which
promised that for one ounce of silver (then worth about 50 cents)
entrusted with payment of $4.50 per ounce for conversion costs, the
investor would be repaid with 3/5 ounce of gold (then worth about
$11). Dr. Emmens' application for a patent on his process was refused,
however, so

Redgrove, Herbert Stanley, 1887-1943 . Alchemy: Ancient and Modern
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Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII
MODERN ALCHEMY

§ 85. "Modern Alchemy".

Correctly speaking, there is no such thing as "Modern Alchemy"; not
that Mysticism is dead, or that men no longer seek to apply the
principles of Mysticism to phenomena on the physical plane, but they
do so after another manner from that of the alchemists. A new science,
however, is born amongst us, closely related on the one hand to
Chemistry, on the other to Physics, but dealing with changes more
profound and reactions more deeply seated than are dealt with by
either of these; a science as yet without a name, unless it be the not
altogether satisfactory one of "Radioactivity." It is this science,
or, perhaps we should say, a certain aspect of it, to which we refer
(it may be fantastically) by the expression "Modern Alchemy": the
aptness of the title we hope to make plain in the course of the
present chapter.

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§ 86. X-Ray's and Becquerel rays.

As is commonly known, what are called X-rays are produced when an
electric discharge is passed through a high-vacuum tube. It has been
shown that these rays are a series of irregular pulses in the ether,
which are set up when the kathode particles strike the walls of the
glass vacuum

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tube,1 and it was found that more powerful effects can be produced by
inserting a disc of platinum in the path of the kathode particles. It
was M. Becquerel who first discovered that there are substances which
naturally emit radiations similar to X-rays. He found that uranium
compounds affected a photographic plate from which they were carefully
screened, and he also showed that these uranium radiations, or
"Becquerel rays," resemble X-rays in other particulars. It was already
known that certain substances fluoresce (emit light) in the dark after
having been exposed to sunlight, and it was thought at first that the
above phenomenon exhibited by uranium salts was of a like nature,
since certain uranium salts are fluorescent; but M. Becquerel found
that uranium salts which had never been exposed to sunlight were still
capable of affecting a photographic plate, and that this remarkable
property was possessed by all uranium salts, whether fluorescent or
not. This phenomenon is known as "radioactivity," and bodies which
exhibit it are said to be "radioactive." Schmidt found that thorium
compounds possess a similar property, and Professor Rutherford showed
that thorium compounds evolved also something resembling a gas. He
called this an "emanation."

§ 87. The Discovery of Radium.

Mme. Curie2 determined the radioactivity of many uranium and
thorium compounds, and found that there was a proportion between the
radioactivity

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of such compounds and the quantity of uranium or thorium in them, with
the remarkable exception of certain natural ores, which had a
radioactivity much in excess of the normal, and, indeed, in certain
cases, much greater than pure uranium. In order to throw some light on
this matter, Mme. Curie prepared one of these ores by a chemical
process and found that it possessed a normal radioactivity. The only
logical conclusion to be drawn from these facts was that the ores in
question must contain some unknown, highly radioactive substance, and
the Curies were able, after very considerable labour, to extract from
pitchblende (the ore with the greatest radioactivity) minute
quantities of the salts of two new elements -- which they named
"Polonium" and "Radium" respectively -- both of which were extremely
radioactive.

M. Debierne has obtained a third radioactive substance from
pitchblende, which he has called "actinium."

§ 88. Chemical Properties of Radium.

Radium is an element resembling calcium, strontium, and barium in
chemical properties; its atomic weight was determined by Mme. Curie,
and found to be about 225, according to her first experiments; a
redetermination gave a slightly higher value, which has been confirmed
by a further investigation carried out by Sir T. E. Thorpe. 3 Radium
gives a

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characteristic spectrum, and is intensely radioactive. It should be
noted that up to the middle of the year 1910 the element radium itself
had not been prepared; in all the experiments carried out radium salts
were employed (i.e., certain compounds of radium with other elements),
generally radium chloride and radium bromide. In that year, however,
Mme. Curie, in conjunction with M. Debierne, obtained the free metal.
It is described as a white, shining metal resembling the other
alkaline earth metals. It reacts very violently with water, chars
paper with which it is allowed to come in contact, and blackens in the
air, probably owing to the formation of a nitride. It fuses at 700o
C., and is more volatile than barium.4

§ 89. The Radioactivity of Radium.

Radium salts give off three distinct sorts of rays, referred to by
the Greek letters , , . The -rays have been shown to consist of of
electrically charged (positive) particles, with a mass approximately
equal to that of four hydrogen atoms; they are slightly deviated by a
magnetic field, and do not possess great penetrative power. The -rays
are similar to the kathode rays, and consist of (negative) electrons;
they are strongly deviated by a magnetic field, in a direction
opposite to that in which the -particles are deviated, and possess
medium penetrative power, passing for the most part through a thin
sheet of metal. The -rays resemble X-rays; they possess

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great penetrative power, and are not deviated by a magnetic field. The
difference in the effect of the magnetic field on these rays, and the
difference in their penetrative power, led to their detection and
allows of their separate examination. Radium salts emit also an
emanation, which tends to become occluded in the solid salt, but can
be conveniently liberated by dissolving the salt in water, or by
heating it. The emanation exhibits the characteristic properties of a
gas, it obeys Boyle's Law (i.e., its volume varies inversely with its
pressure), and it can be condensed to a liquid at low temperatures;
its density as determined by the diffusion method is about 100.
Attempts to prepare chemical compounds of the emanation have failed,
and in this respect it resembles the rare gases of the atmosphere --
helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon -- whence it is probable that
its molecules are monatomic, so that a density of 100 would give its
atomic weight as 200.5 As can be seen from the table on pp. 106, 107,
an atomic weight of about 220 corresponds to a position in the column
containing the rare gases in the periodic system. That the emanation
actually has an atomic weight of these dimensions was confirmed by
further experiments carried out by the late Sir William Ramsay and Dr.
R. W. Gray.6 These chemists determined the density of the emanation by
actually weighing minute quantities of known volume of the substance,
sealed up in small capillary tubes, a specially sensitive

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balance being employed. Values for the density varying from 108 to
113½, corresponding to values for the atomic weight varying from 216
to 227, were thereby: obtained. Sir William Ramsay, therefore,
considered that there could no longer be any doubt that the emanation
was one of the elements of the group of chemically inert gases. He
proposed to call it Niton, and, for reasons which we shall note later,
considered that in all probability it had an atomic weight of about
222½.

§ 90. The Disintegration of the Radium Atom.

Radium salts possess another very remarkable property, namely, that
of continuously emitting light and heat. It seemed, at first, that
here was a startling contradiction to the law of the conservation of
energy, but the whole mystery becomes comparatively clear in terms of
the corpuscular or the electronic theory of matter. The radium-atom is
a system of a large number (see § 81) of corpuscles or electrons, and
contains in virtue of their motion an enormous amount of energy. But
it is known from Chemistry that atomic systems (i.e., molecules) which
contain very much energy are unstable and liable to explode. The same
law holds good on the more interior plane -- the radium-atom is liable
to, and actually does, explode. And the result? Energy is set free,
and manifests itself partly as heat and light. Some free electrons are
shot off (the -rays), which, striking the undecomposed particles of
salt, give rise to pulses in the ether (the -rays),7 just as the
kathode particles give rise to X-rays when they

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strike the walls of the vacuum tube or a platinum disc placed in their
path. The and -rays do not, however, result immediately from the
exploding radium-atoms, the initial products being the emanation and
one -particle from each radium-atom destroyed.

§ 91. Induced Radioactivity.

Radium salts have the property of causing surrounding objects to
become temporally radioactive. This "induced radioactivity," as it may
be called, is found to be due to the emanation, which is itself
radioactive (it emits -rays only), and is decomposed into minute
traces of solid radioactive deposits. By examining the rate of decay
of the activity of the deposit, it has been found that it is
undergoing a series of sub-atomic changes, the products being termed
Radium A, B, C, &c. It has been proved that all the and -rays emitted
by radium salts are really due to certain of these secondary products.
Radium F is thought to be identical with Polonium (§ 87). Another
product is also obtained by these decompositions, with which we shall
deal later (§ 94).

§ 92. Properties of Uranium and Thorium.

Uranium and thorium differ in one important respect from radium,
inasmuch as the first product of the decomposition of the uranium and
thorium atoms is in both cases solid. Sir William Crookes8 was able to
separate from uranium salts by chemical means a small quantity of an
intensely radioactive substance, which he called Uranium X, the
residual uranium having lost most of its activity; and M.

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Becquerel, on repeating the experiment, found that the activity of the
residual uranium was slowly regained, whilst that of the uranium X
decayed. This is most simply explained by the theory that uranium
first changes into uranium X. It has been suggested that radium may be
the final product of the breaking up of the uranium-atom; at any rate,
it is quite certain that radium must be evolved in some way, as
otherwise there would be none in existence -- it would all have
decomposed. This suggestion has been experimentally confirmed, the
growth of radium in large quantities of a solution of purified uranyl
nitrate having been observed. Uranium gives no emanation. Thorium
probably gives at least three solid products -- Meso-thorium,
Radio-thorium, and Thorium X, the last of which yields an emanation
resembling that obtained from radium, but not identical with it.

§ 93. The Radium Emanation.

We must now more fully consider the radium emanation -- a substance
with more astounding properties than even the radium compounds
themselves. By distilling off the emanation from some radium bromide,
and measuring the quantities of heat given off by the emanation and
the radium salt respectively, Professors Rutherford and Barnes 9
proved that nearly three-fourths of the total amount of heat given out
by a radium salt comes from the minute quantity of emanation that it
contains. The amount of energy liberated as heat during the decay of
the emanation is enormous; one cubic centimetre liberates about four

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million times as much heat as is obtained by the combustion of an
equal volume of hydrogen. Undoubtedly this must indicate some profound
change, and one may well ask, What is the ultimate product of the
decomposition of the emanation?

§ 94. The Production of Helium from Radium.

It had been observed already that the radioactive minerals on
heating give off Helium -- a gaseous element, characterised by a
particular yellow line in its spectrum -- and it seemed not unlikely
that helium might be the ultimate decomposition product of the
emanation. A research to settle this point was undertaken by Sir
William Ramsay and Mr. Soddy,10 and a preliminary experiment having
confirmed the above speculation, they carried out further very careful
experiments. "The maximum amount of the emanation obtained from 50
milligrams of radium bromide was conveyed by means of oxygen into a
U-tube cooled in liquid air, and the latter was then extracted by the
pump." The spectrum was observed; it "was apparently a new one,
probably that of the emanation itself.... After standing from July 17
to 21 the helium spectrum appeared, and the characteristic lines were
observed." Sir William Ramsay performed a further experiment with a
similar result, in which the radium salt had been first of all heated
in a vacuum for some time, proving that the helium obtained could not
have been occluded in it; though the fact that the helium spectrum did
not immediately appear, in itself

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proves this point. Sir William Ramsay's results were confirmed by
further careful experiments by Sir James Dewar and other chemists. It
was suggested, therefore, that the -particle consists of an
electrically charged helium-atom, and not only is this view in
agreement with the value of the mass of this particle as determined
experimentally, but it has been completely demonstrated by Professor
Rutherford and Mr. Royds. These chemists performed an experiment in
which the emanation from about one-seventh of a gramme of radium was
enclosed in a thin-walled tube, through the walls of which the
-particles could pass, but which were impervious to gases. This tube
was surrounded by an outer jacket, which was evacuated. After a time
the presence of helium in the space between the inner tube and the
outer jacket was observed spectroscopically. 11 Now, the
emanation-atom results from the radium-atom by the expulsion of one
-particle; and since this latter consists of an electrically charged
helium-atom, it follows that the emanation must have an atomic weight
of 226-4, i.e., 222. This value is in agreement with Sir William
Ramsay's determination of the density of the emanation. We may
represent the degradation of the radium-atom, therefore, by the
following scheme: --

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§ 95. Nature of this Change.

Here, then, for the first time in the history of Chemistry, we have
the undoubted formation of one chemical element from another, for,
leaving out of the question the nature of the emanation, there can be
no doubt that radium is a chemical element. This is a point which must
be insisted upon, for it has been suggested that radium may be a
compound of helium with some unknown element; or, perhaps, a compound
of helium with lead, since it has been shown that lead is probably one
of the end products of the decomposition of radium. The following
considerations, however, show this view to be altogether untenable:
(i.) All attempts to prepare compounds of helium with other elements
have failed. (ii.) Radium possesses all the properties of a chemical
element; it has a characteristic spectrum, and falls in that column in
the Periodic Table with those elements which it resembles as to its
chemical properties. (iii.) The quantity of heat liberated on the
decomposition of the emanation is, as we have already indicated, out
of all proportion to that obtained even in the most violent chemical
reactions; and (iv.) one very important fact has been observed,
namely, that the rate of decay of the emanation is unaffected by even
extreme changes of temperature, whereas chemical actions are always
affected in rate by changes of temperature. It will also be advisable,
perhaps, to indicate some of the differences between helium and the
emanation. The latter is a heavy gas, condensable to a liquid by
liquid air (recently it has been solidified12); whereas helium

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is the lightest of all known gases with the exception of hydrogen and
has been liquefied only by the most persistent effort. 13 The
emanation, moreover, is radioactive, giving off -particles, whereas
helium does not possess this property.

§ 96. Is this Change a true Transmutation?

It has been pointed out, however, that (in a sense) this change
(viz., of emanation into helium) is not quite what has been meant by
the a expression "transmutation of the elements"; for the reason that
it is a spontaneous change; no effort of ours can bring it about or
cause it to cease.14 But the fact of the change does go to prove that
the chemical elements are not the discrete units of matter that they
were supposed to be. And since it appears that all matter is
radioactive, although (save in these exceptional cases) in a very
slight degree, 15 we here have evidence of a process of evolution at
work among the chemical elements. The chemical elements are not
permanent; they are all undergoing change; and the common elements
merely mark those points where the rate of the evolutionary process is
at its slowest. (See also §§ 78 and 83.) Thus, the essential truth in
the old alchemistic doctrine of the growth of metals is vindicated,
for the metals do grow in the womb of Nature, although the process may
be far

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slower than appears to have been imagined by certain of the
alchemists,16 and although gold may not be the end product. As writes
Professor Sir W. Tilden: " . . . It appears that modern ideas as to
the genesis of the elements, and hence of all matter, stand in strong
contrast with those which chiefly prevailed among experimental
philosophers from the time of Newton, and seem to reflect in an
altered form the speculative views of the ancients." " . . . It seems
probable," he adds, "that the chemical elements, and hence all
material substances of which the earth, the sea, the air, and the host
of heavenly bodies are all composed, resulted from a change,
corresponding to condensation, in something of which we have no direct
and intimate knowledge. Some have imagined this primal essence of all
things to be identical with the ether of space. As yet we know nothing
with certainty, but it is thought that by means of the spectroscope
some stages of the operation may be seen in progress in the nebulæ and
stars...."17 We have

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next to consider whether there is any experimental evidence showing it
to be possible (using the phraseology of the alchemists) for man to
assist in Nature's work.

§ 97. The Production of Neon from Emanation.

As we have already indicated above (§ 93), the radium emanation
contains a vast store of potential energy, and it was with the idea of
utilising this energy for bringing about chemical changes that Sir
William Ramsay18 undertook a research on the chemical action of this
substance -- a research with the most surprising and the most
interesting results, for the energy contained within the radium
emanation appeared to behave like a veritable Philosopher's Stone. The
first experiments were carried out on distilled water. It had already
been observed that the emanation decomposes water into its gaseous
elements, oxygen and hydrogen, and that the latter is always produced
in excess. These results were confirmed and the presence of hydrogen
peroxide was detected, explaining the formation of an excess of
hydrogen; it was also shown that the emanation brings about the
reverse change to some extent, causing oxygen end hydrogen to unite
with the production of water, until a position of equilibrium is

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attained. On examining spectroscopically the gas obtained by the
action of the emanation on water, after the removal of the ordinary
gases, a most surprising result was observed -- the gas showed a
brilliant spectrum of neon, accompanied with some faint helium lines.
A more careful experiment was carried out later by Sir William Ramsay
and Mr. Cameron, in which a silica bulb was employed instead of glass.
The spectrum of the residual gas after removing ordinary gases was
successfully photographed, and a large number of the neon lines
identified; helium was also present. The presence of neon could not be
explained, in Ramsay's opinion, by leakage of air into the apparatus,
as the percentage of neon in the air is not sufficiently high, whereas
this suggestion might be put forward in the case of argon. Moreover,
the neon could not have come from the aluminium of the electrodes (in
which it might be thought to have been occluded), as the sparking tube
had been used and tested before the experiment was carried out. The
authors conclude: "We must regard the transformation of emanation into
neon, in presence of water, as indisputably proved, and, if a
transmutation be defined as a transformation brought about at will, by
change of conditions, then this is the first case of transmutation of
which conclusive evidence is put forward." 19 However, Professor
Rutherford and Mr. Royds have been unable to confirm this result. They
describe 20 attempts to obtain neon by the action of emanation

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on water. Out of five experiments no neon was obtained, save in one
case in which a small air leak was discovered; and, since the authors
find that very minute quantities of this gas are sufficient to give a
clearly visible spectrum, they conclude that Ramsay's positive results
are due, after all, to leakage of air into the apparatus. But if this
is the true explanation of Ramsay's results, it is difficult to
understand why, in the case of the experiment with a solution of a
copper salt described below, the presence of neon was not detected,
for, if due to leakage, the proportions of the rare gases present
should presumably have been the same in all the experiments. Further
research seems necessary conclusively to settle the question.

§ 98. Ramsay's Experiments on Copper.

The fact that an excess of hydrogen was produced when water was
decomposed by the emanation suggested to Sir William Ramsay and Mr.
Cameron that if a solution of a metallic salt was employed in place of
pure water, the free metal might be obtained. These "modern
alchemists," therefore, proceeded to investigate the action of radium
emanation on solutions of copper and lead salts, and again apparently
effected transmutations. They found on removing the copper from a
solution of a copper-salt which had been subjected to the action of
the emanation, and spectroscopically examining the residue, that a
considerable quantity of sodium was present, together with traces of
lithium; and the gas evolved in the case of a solution of copper
nitrate contained, along with much nitric oxide and a little nitrogen,
argon (which was detected spectroscopically), but no helium. It
certainly seemed like a dual transformation of

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copper into lithium and sodium, and emanation into argon. They also
observed that apparently carbon dioxide is continually evolved from an
acid solution of thorium nitrate (see below, § 100). It is worth while
noticing that helium, neon and argon occur in the same column in the
Periodic Table with emanation; lithium and sodium with copper, and
carbon with thorium; in each case the elements produced being of
lighter atomic weight than those decomposed.21 The authors make the
following suggestions: "(1) That helium and the -particle are not
identical; (2) that helium results from the `degradation' of the large
molecule of emanation by its bombardment with -particles; (3) that
this `degradation,' when the emanation is alone or mixed with oxygen
and hydrogen, results in the lowest member of the inactive series,
namely, helium; (4) that if particles of greater mass than hydrogen or
oxygen are associated with the emanation, namely, liquid water, then
the `degradation' of the emanation is less complete, and neon is
produced; (5) that when molecules of still greater weight and
complexity are present, as is the case when the emanation is dissolved
in a solution of copper sulphate, the product of `degradation' of the
emanation is argon. We are inclined to believe too [they say] that (6)
the copper also is involved in this process of degradation, and is
reduced to the lowest term of its series, namely, lithium; and at the
same time, inasmuch as the weight of the residue of alkali, produced
when copper nitrate is present, is double that obtained from the blank
experiment, or from water alone, the supposition is not excluded that
the

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chief product of the `degradation' of copper is sodium." 22

§ 99. Further Experiments on Radium and Copper.

A little later Madame Curie and Mademoiselle Gleditsch 23 repeated
Cameron and Ramsay's experiments on copper salts, using, however,
platinum apparatus. They failed to detect lithium after the action of
the emanation, and think that Cameron and Ramsay's results may be due
to the glass vessels employed. Dr. Perman24 has investigated the
direct action of the emanation on copper and gold, and has failed to
detect any trace of lithium. The transmutation of copper into lithium,
therefore, must be regarded as unproved, but further research is
necessary before any conclusive statements can be made on the subject.

§ 100. Ramsay's Experiments on Thorium and allied Metals.

In his presidential address to the Chemical Society, March 25,
1909, after having brought forward some exceedingly interesting
arguments for the possibility of transmutation, Sir William Ramsay
described some experiments which he had carried out on

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thorium and allied elements.25 It was found, as we have already stated
(§ 98), that, apparently, carbon-dioxide was continually evolved from
an acid solution of thorium nitrate, precautions being taken that the
gas was not produced from the grease on the stopcock employed, and it
also appeared that carbon-dioxide was produced by the action of radium
emanation on thorium nitrate. The action of radium emanation on
compounds (not containing carbon) of other members of the carbon
group, namely, silicon, zirconium and lead, was then investigated; in
the cases of zirconium nitrate and hydrofluosilicic acid,
carbon-dioxide was obtained; but in the case of lead chlorate the
amount of carbon dioxide was quite insignificant. Curiously enough,
the perchlorate of bismuth, a metal which belongs to the nitrogen
group of elements, also yielded carbon-dioxide when acted on by
emanation. Sir William Ramsay concludes his discussion of these
experiments as follows: "Such are the facts. No one is better aware
than I how insufficient the proof is. Many other experiments must be
made before it can confidently be asserted that certain elements, when
exposed to `concentrated energy,' undergo degradation into carbon."
Some such confirmatory experiments were carried out by Sir William
Ramsay and Mr. Francis L Usher, and they also described an experiment
with a compound of titanium. Their results confirm Sir William
Ramsay's former experiments. Carbon-dioxide was obtained in
appreciable quantities by the action of emanation on compounds

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of silicon, titanium, zirconium and thorium. In the case of lead, the
amount of carbon dioxide obtained was inappreciable. 26

§ 101. The Possibility of Making Gold

It does not seem unlikely that if it is possible to "degrade"
elements, it may be possible to build them up. It has been suggested
that it might be possible to obtain, in this way, gold from silver,
since these two elements occur in the same column in the Periodic
Table; but the suggestion still awaits experimental confirmation. The
question arises, What would be the result if gold could be cheaply
produced? That gold is a metal admirably adapted for many purposes,
for which its scarcity prevents its use, must be admitted. But the
financial chaos which would follow if it were to be cheaply obtained
surpasses the ordinary imagination. It is a theme that ought to appeal
to a novelist of exceptional imaginative power. However, we need not
fear these results, for not only is radium extremely rare, far dearer
than gold, and on account of its instability will never be obtained in
large quantities, but, judging from the above-described experiments,
if, indeed, the radium emanation is the true Philosopher's Stone, the
quantity of gold that may be hoped for by its aid is extremely small.

§ 102. The Significance of "Allotropy."

A very suggestive argument for the transmutation of the metals was
put forward by Professor Henry M. Howe, LL.D., in a paper entitled
"Allotropy or Transmutation?" read before the British Association
(Section B), Sheffield Meeting, 1910.

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Certain substances are known which, although differing in their
physical properties very markedly, behave chemically as if they were
one and the same element, giving rise to the same series of compounds.
Such substances, of which we may mention diamond, graphite and
charcoal (e.g., lampblack) -- all of which are known chemically as
"carbon" -- or, to take another example, yellow phosphorus (a yellow,
waxy, highly inflammable solid) and red phosphorus (a
difficultly-inflammable, dark red substance, probably possessing a
minutely crystalline structure), are, moreover, convertible one into
the other.27 It has been customary to refer to such substances as
different forms or allotropic modifications of the same element, and
not to regard them as being different elements. As Professor Howe
says, "If after defining `elements' as substances hitherto
indivisible, and different elements as those which differ in at least
some one property, and after asserting that the elements cannot be
transmuted into each other, we are confronted with the change from
diamond into lampblack, and with the facts, first, that each is
clearly

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indivisible hitherto and hence an element, and, second, that they
differ in every property, we try to escape in a circle by saying that
they are not different elements because they do change into each
other. In short, we limit the name `element' to indivisible substances
which cannot be transmuted into each other, and we define those which
do transmute as ipso facto one element, and then we say that the
elements cannot be transmuted. Is not this very like saying that, if
you call a calf's tail a leg, then a calf has five legs? And if it is
just to reply that calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg, is it
not equally just to reply that calling two transmutable elements one
element does not make them so?

"Is it philosophical to point to the fact that two such
transmutable elements yield but a single line of derivatives as proof
that they are one element? Is not this rather proof of the readiness,
indeed irresistibleness, of their transmutation? Does not this simply
mean that the derivativeless element, whenever it enters into
combination, inevitably transmutes into its mate which has
derivatives?28

According to the atomic theory the differences between what are
termed "allotropic modifications" are generally ascribed to
differences in the number and arrangement of the atoms constituting
the molecules of such "modifications," and not to any differences in
the atoms themselves. But we cannot argue that two such "allotropic
modifications" or elements which are transmutable into one another

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are one and the same element, because they possess the same atomic
weight, and different elements are distinguished by different atomic
weights; for the reason that, in the determination of atomic weights,
derivatives of such bodies are employed; hence, the value obtained is
the atomic weight of the element which forms derivatives, from wh