The design and construction of a spectroscopic isotope detector and its application to the isotopes of radioactive lead.

The determination of the isotopes of various elements is of interest to scientists in many fields, particularly physics and chemistry. Improvements in the technique of measuring the relative quantities of different isotopes in a sample of an element are of particular interest now, with the large number of artificial radioactive substances which are becoming available. The most prevalent methods of determining isotopes make use of some form of mass spectrograph; but, according to modern theories of atomic structure, spectroscopic means, although more difficult in some ways, and less sensitive to traces of isotopes, may be applied without expensive equipment. With this object in view, it was suggested that a suitable form of discharge tube should be designed to eliminate any possible extraneous effects on the spectrum (such as the influence of electric and magnetic fields) and that the hyperfine structure of the spectrum of radiogenic lead be examined in an attempt to determine any isotopes which may be present. [...