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Very penetrating rays not appreciably deflected by a magnetic or electric field, emitted by radioactive substances. The prevailing view is that they are non-periodic ether pulses differing from Röntgen rays only in being more penetrating.

in working with uranium and its compounds. They consist of a mixture of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

roundings, and for their radiations, which are of three kinds: alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays (see these terms). By reason of these rays they ionize gases, affect photographic plates, cause sores on the skin, and produce many other striking effects. Their degree of activity depends on the proportion of radium pr…