Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-30
THE RoNrGEN DISCOVERY.
Additional Facts Regarding the
Curious Action Of Light.
New York Times.)


| that country.
The name cathode rays" seems ALREADY
the accepted term for the form OF radiant
energy which has the PECULIARLY OF be'ha
stopped by transparent glass and OF pass
ing through ground glass, WOOD metal
and human flesh. The use Of this tenn
! comes. Of course, from the fact that the
RAYS are excited at the cathode, or Mesa
tive, pole of a Cr0okes's tulc IN a't'eh'
Crookes's tube IS simply a mobilization
of Geisslers tube. It consists OF an
egg-shaped bulb Of glass, from which the
air has been almost exhausted. AT CHE
end the positive current IS brought .hto
the tube by means OF 4 fused Il"tiDAn
wire and a small disk-shlDed piece o.
aluminium is placed at the end OF M
wire on the lower siie OF the tuDe
the spot where a similar disk OF aluminium
receives the current which fas Teen
transmitted through the vacuum. where
the current enters Is called the anole'
and where IL leaves is called the cathode.
These are otherwise known as the POSI-
tive and negative poles, and are often
indicated by a plus aud minus sign, &c
spectively.
Professor CroOkes passed an 'ltctfic
current through this tube aud It save
out brilliant phOs9lOrcscent elects, aS
usual i'm such cases. Near the catnode.
however, was n small. lark spot, all tho
more remarkable on account OF the Dr'i-
liant light around it. Professor Cookies,
investigating certain effects on Sodies in
the tube. such as a small Maltese p0ss
Of aluminium, found that some zen al K
able energy was manifesung itscll there'
This was the beginning which leu up 10
Professor Rontgen's discovery.
Arthur Bowes, OF Stafford, England, VINO
has seen photographs made bv Professor
Rontgen, has written Letter To the
London Photographic News, part Of when
IS here reproduced. Mr. BoWes Us
civil engineer, employed by the city or
Stafford. and IS an amateur photographers
of some distinction. lie says IN lis iet-
ter:
BY the kindness Of Professor Schuster.
of the owens College, Manchester,
l have been able 10 examine the pho
tographs sent to this country, and OBJ
tain some particulars OF the marvellous
discovery they illustrate. made by Pro-
fessor Rontgen, Of Wurzberg. As some
OF your readers may be aware. these
photographs demonstrate the possibility
OF photographing through substances
which are Opaque 10 ordinary light.
IL has long been known that In eN-
perimenting with electric discharges
through glass tubes, which have been
exhausted more or less completely Oh
air. there IS produced a strong phosphor-
escence OF huorescence IN the glass walls
of the tube. Some years ago HERR
showed that these phosphorescent ema-
nations would permeate thin metal,
and i'm 1898 DR.. Lenard described be
fore the Royal Prussian Academy or
Sciences at Berlin an arrangement by
which the rays were made 10 pass
through q plate Of aluminium .C03 mill
limetres thick This plate. while quite
OPAQUE to ordinary light, permitted the
rays from the Geissler tube to permeate
il. rendering the air family luminous and
creating strong odor Of ozone.
Professor Rontgen's discovery is that,
in addition to this phosphorescenee, an
other radiation Of a hitherto unknown
nature is produced, which Is capable
OF penetrating through all bodies, though
not TO the same extent Wood and
human flesh are more easily penetrated
by II than glass, and, although its
effects do not make themselves visible
to the human eye, they can be recorded
photographically.
Thin plates OF metal offer little opposi-
ton to it's passage. and can be photo
graphed through almost as readily as
can pane OF glass with ordinary day
light. The first photograph which Pro
lessor Schuster showed me was half
plate print on albumen-paper. exhibit
ing the effect of interposing a human
hand between the scource Of light and
the sensitive plate.
The outlines OF the flesh were only
family defined, because the flesh was
comparatively transparent to the radia-
tons; the bones of the fingers were
very plainly shown, with the knuckes
clearly defined; a signet-ring on one
finger was the most distinct feature ia
the picture The whole effect was that
of a badly-defned skeleton hand, with
a ring on one finger.
No camera had been used because. as
Professor Schuster explained. the new
lighter radiation, as the Professor pre-
ferred to call it-differed from ordinary
light in some OF its most essential fea-
lures So far as Is yet known, IL can
neither be reflected nor refracted: the
lens has no power 70 concentrate it and
form an image in the usual way. All
the photographs taken with IL are in the
nature Of shadows, formed by interposing
various substances in the path of the
rays.
Another photograph showed a mariners
compass or similar dial which had been
photographed while inclosed IN a metal
case. The dial was about two inches
in diameter, and well defined. In another
experiment the source Of light had been
placed at one side Of a wooden door,
while the plate had been exposed on the
other side. and I'm the resulting picture
the internal markings OF the wood were
revealed, as well as the outlines OF a
metal hasp or fastener.
A photograph Of a piece OF zinc, COM
posed OF several strips OF zinc rolled into
one apparently homogeneous mass, re-
vealed distinct situations in the interior
Of the metal. one Of the most instruc-
tive of the photographs was produced by
passing the radiations through thin slabs
OF various materials. such as glass. lee
land spar iron, and aluminium. The
relative amount of obstruction offered 10
the rays was made manifest by the vary
ing depths OF tint in the photograph, aud
Professor Schuster pointed out that the
opacity appeared 20 vary In the same
relation as the density.
The heavy substances. such as !ron'
lead. glass, Iceland spar. offered more
obstruction than did lighter substances
such as wood, paper. aluminium, or nesh,
and this holds good. quite irrespective OF
the behavior of these substances win ofui-
nary light. AS thin layers or wood are
comparatively transparent 10 the ema-
nations. II will be seen that photograph
can be taken OF a plate inclosed IN
dark slide without drawing the shutter
Of tho slide.
Mr.. Bowes makes the remarkable sug-
gestlou that the splritualistic mediums
must have known all along OF the new
light. He says:
Surely the spIritualisiic mediums who
produce ghostly photographs for the ediii-
cation of Mr.. w r. Stead and others Will
rejoice that science has begun 10 con-
firm their assertions at last. asked the
professor II the photoefaphlng OF an OBJ
ject inclosed N a>melal box did not box
like clairyovance or something more in