Thorium and uranium behave quite differently with regard to the action of ammonia and ammonium carbonate. Ur X is completely precipitated with the uranium in an ammonia solution and the filtrate is inactive. Ur X is separated by ammonium carbonate, while Th X under the same conditions is completely precipitated with the thorium. The Ur X and the Th X thus behave like distinct types of matter with well-marked chemical properties quite distinct from those of the substances in which they are produced. The removal of Ur X by the precipitation of barium is probably not directly connected with the chemical properties of Ur X. The separation is probably due to the dragging down of the Ur X with the dense barium precipitate. Sir William Crookes found that the Ur X was dragged down by precipitates when no question of insolubility was involved, and such a result is to be expected if the Ur X exists in extremely minute quantity. It must be borne in mind that the actual amount of the active constituents Th X and Ur X, separated from thorium and uranium, is probably infinitesimal, and that the greater proportion of the residues is due to impurities present in the salt and the reagents, a very small amount of active matter being mixed with them.
132. Rate of production of Th X. If the recovery of the activity of uranium or thorium is due to the continuous production of new active matter, it should be possible to obtain experimental evidence of the process. As the case of thorium has been most fully investigated, a brief account will be given of some experiments made by Rutherford and Soddy[[228]] to show that Th X is produced continuously at a constant rate. Preliminary experiments showed that three successive precipitations were sufficient to remove the Th X almost completely from the thorium. The general method employed was to precipitate a solution of 5 grams of thorium-nitrate with ammonia. The precipitate was then redissolved in nitric acid and the thorium again precipitated as before, as rapidly as possible, so that the Th X produced in the time between successive precipitations should not appreciably affect the results. The removal of the Th X was followed by measurements of the activity of the residues obtained from successive filtrates. In three successive precipitations the activities of the residues were proportional to 100, 8, 1·6 respectively. Thus two precipitations are nearly sufficient to free the thorium from Th X.
The thorium freed from Th X was then allowed to stand for a definite time, and the amount of Th X formed during that time found by precipitating it, and measuring its radio-activity. According to the theory, the activity It of the thorium formed in the time t is given by
where I₀ is the total activity of Th X, when there is radio-active equilibrium.
If λt is small,
It
---- = λt.
I₀
Since the activity of Th X falls to half value in 4 days, the value of λ expressed in hours = ·0072. After standing a period of 1 hour about ¹⁄₁₄₀, after 1 day ⅙, after 4 days ½ of the maximum should be obtained. The experimental results obtained showed an agreement, as good as could be expected, with the equation expressing the result that the Th X was being produced at a constant rate.