ABSTRACT
The atomic nature of electricity is one of the fundamental facts on which all modern theories of the structure of the atom are based. The study of radioactive phenomena has thus clearly indicated atoms are not permanent and indestructible, but can suffer spontaneous transformation with the appearance of a number of new elements. While the study of radioactivity has profoundly modified the older ideas of the atom, and has brought to light the existence of nearly thirty new types of matter. By suitable methods, Rutherford and Geiger have shown that each a particle in entering a vessel may be made to show an electrical effect that is easily measurable. Consequently all the radioactive substances which emit α rays give rise to helium as a product of their transformation. It is thus reasonable to conclude that the atoms of the radioactive elements are complex structures consisting, and that one of the constituent helium atoms is released in the atomic explosion.
