alpha ray

Such is a brief summary of the climax of radioactive discovery:—the birth, life and death of the alpha ray.

The alpha ray carries a positive charge of double the ionic amount.

The full line in Fig. 13 gives the ionisation curve which it may be expected would be struck out by a single alpha ray.

But in point of fact the ionisation due to an alpha ray is sui generis.

A single alpha ray fired from radium C will produce 2.37 x 105 ions in air.