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Radium got its name from the Latin word radius, meaning ray. The early studies of radioactive elements (by Pierre and Marie Curie and others) found that their photographic effects were similar to that of light rays. Scientists categorized the "rays" given off by radioactive elements by their reaction with magnetic fields. Eventually the positive "rays" were named as Alpha particles (helium nuclei). Beta particles were negatively charged (electrons), and Gamma rays had no charge.

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16y ago

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