The total energy so emitted is
millions of times greater than that produced by any chemical combination
such as the union of oxygen and hydrogen to form water. From the heavy
white salt there is continually rising a faint fire-mist like the
will-o'-the-wisp over a swamp. This gas is known as the emanation or
niton, "the shining one." A pound of niton would give off energy at the
rate of 23,000 horsepower; fine stuff to run a steamer, one would think,
but we must remember that it does not last. By the sixth day the power
would have fallen off by half. Besides, no one would dare to serve as
engineer, for the radiation will rot away the flesh of a living man who
comes near it, causing gnawing ulcers or curing them. It will not only
break down the complex and delicate molecules of organic matter but will
attack the atom itself, changing, it is believed, one element into
another, again the fulfilment of a dream of the alchemists. And its
rays, unseen and unfelt by us, are yet strong enough to penetrate an
armorplate and photograph what is behind it.
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