NIEPCE DE SAINT-VICTOR, (CLAUDE FELIX ABEL). - DISCOVERING "CHEMICAL RAYS" (RADIOACTIVITY).

Mémoire sur une nouvelle action de la lumière.

(Paris, Mallet-Bachelier), 1857. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 45, No. 20. Pp. (785)-832. Entire issue offered. Niepce de Saint-Victor's paper: pp. 811-815,

First apperance of the first paper relating to his discovery of INVISIBLE "CHEMICAL" RAYS, and which, 30 years later, by Henry Becquerel was "re-discovered" as radioactivity (1896).

The results of these investigations lead to these statement: Some compounds exposed to light exhibit in the dark the same effect as that produced by the direct action of light. - Cardboards impregnated with both uranium nitrate and tartaric acid are "active" - The "activity" remaining on the exposed cardboard is revealed by its action on a photographic plate - The effect is not due to phosphorescence - The activity is attributed to invisible "chemical" rays.
It is amazing how closely these experiments resembled those performed by Henri Becquerel 30 years later.

"When the work of Abel Niepce de Saint-Victor was brought to light, many persons thought that henri had been aware of these publications prior to his research on uranium. Severel facts seems to support this belief. Henri's father, Alexandre Edmond, had reported several details from Abel Niepce in a book entitled "Light: its causes and effects", published 1869. When Henri Carrington Bolton (1843-1903) reviewed in 1869 the work of Abel Niepce, he mentioned a "remarkable property of uranium nitrate to absorb the actinic rays of light, retaining them in an active condition for a long time". In 1866 and 1869, J. Jamin, Henri's first stepfather, lectured at the Ecole Polytechnique on the Niepce effects."(Michel Genet "The Discovery of Uranic Rays: A short Step for Henri Becquerel but a Giant Step for Science" in Radiochimica Acta /0/71 1995).

Order-nr.: 58369