Matter, Radiant

Matter in the ultra-gaseous or so-called fourth state. In the gaseous state the molecules of a gas are in perpetual kinetic motion, colliding actually or virtually with each other, rebounding from such approach, and striking also the walls of the containing ve el. But except for these deflections, which are of enormous frequency, the paths of the molecules would be perfectly straight. In the radiant state matter exists in so high a vacuum that collisions of the molecules rarely occur, and the molecules simply beat back and forth in straight lines from side to side of the containing ve el. A layer of gas in this condition is termed a Crookes' layer, from Prof. William Crookes, who discovered and investigated these phenomena. 369   STANDARD ELECTRICAL DICTIONARY. potential discharges between electrodes. The course of the discharge is normal, in general terms, to the surfaces of the electrodes, and reaches from one to the other in a curve or straight line, as the case may be. These luminous streams are deflected by a magnetic field; if brought to a focus can heat refractory material in that focus to a full white heat, and can develop phosphorescence. The latter is termed electric phosphorescence. A great variety of experiments have been devised to illustrate the phenomena of radiant matter. The vacuum is generally produced in a hermetically sealed gla ve el into which the electrodes are sealed, and which contain the phosphorescent substances or other e entials for the experiments. The ve els are termed Crookes' Tubes. [Transcriber's note: Crookes reported on "radiant matter" in 1879. It is actually electrons, but he failed to distinguish them from ordinary atoms. Thompson properly described electrons in 1897.]