Radium and Geology

Abstract

THOSE interested in this subject should refer to the paper which appears in the last issue of the Philosophical Magazine, by Mr. A. S. Eve, on the ionisation of the atmosphere over the ocean. Mr. Eve cites observations, and adds others of his own, showing that the ionisation over the ocean is much the same as over the land, and points out the difficulty of explaining this in view of the small content of radium in sea-water compared with that in ordinary rocks. Possessed as I am with the view that extra-terrestrial radio-active dust reaching the earth may account for much of the radium of soils, sediments, and rocks, I cannot but think that Mr. Eve's difficulty may find explanation in an extra-terrestrial source of supply.