The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-18
wIzARD EDIsovs DIsoorERr.

Roentgen Rays Can be Difrerentiated-Can
be Resolved Into Two Parts-Done by
Immersing tho Tube in Cold Parattine-
OF Scientific Value.
New York, April 17.-Wizard Edison
has discovered that the Roentgen, or x
rays, can be differentiated, resolved in
to four parts, by immersing the tube in
cold paraffine oil, He thinks this dis
eovery win prove of the greatest posi-
BILE value to the scientific world,
Thomas A. Edison has demonstrated
that the X rays are compound that
consist of at least two sets of rays or
vibrations. One has lower photo
graphic influence than the other, and
causes sharp shadows on the fluoro-
scope, and the other, which he believes
to be closely analogous in length Of
waves to the ordinary sound rays, has
an extraordinary penetrability and in
his experiments passed through steel
plates one-eighth of an inch in thick
ness and showed on the. Horoscope
screen the images of objects placed on
the opposite side.
He explained yesterday how the dis
covery was made. He had been wor-
ried by the fact that as soon as he had
got tube that showed good results 1t
got red hot, was pierced and became
useless. The idea came to him to i'm
merse the tube in some substance that
would cool and keep it at the right tenn
perature He found that paratfine oil
was just the medium. He immersed a
tube in a jar of paraffine oil sunk In
glass tank filled with ice water The
current was turned on and a strange
result was noted.
This was that the rays proceeding
through the oil did not cause brilliant
huorescence. Their character had
changed. They passed through the
hand, the bones offering nearly as lit
tie resistance as did the flesh. This is
an entirely new development, and one
that it is thought will be of the great
est Importance to surgeons and the
medical fraternity generally. 1t will
afford them a means of differentiating
the X rays and analysing the results
attained
II asked Mr.. Edison how he had got
on with the seeing of the bones of the
human body, and he replied that he
had only got on indifferently well.
With tube of exceptional excellence
he had tried the experiment Of seeing
how far he could detect the interior
of the body He took as his subject
one of the assistants at the laboratory,
and passing the Horoscope up the arm
saw distinctly the bone OF. the upper
arm. Then the Horoscope was passed
behind the shoulder and the outline Of
the collar bone and the shoulder blade
was seen at the outer edge, the shadow
becoming fainter as it passed nearer
the center of the trunk.
"An attempt was made to get view
of the ribs, but this was unsatisfactory,
and only revealed the extreme outer
parts of ribs. The attempt to pass the
rays through the body and see the back
bone and the other bones in the skele-
ton was an entire failure, only a con-
fused blur beingg seen, which might
mean bones or Yiscera or anything
else. -
II am sure" Mr.. Edison said, that
this discovery of the differentiation Of
the x rays and their analysatton into
component parts will prove of the
greatest possible value to the scientific
world"
New York April 17.-Nicola Tesla
has succeeded in producing such high
power in the X rays as to be able to
look completely through human body
and distinguish moving substances on
the other side. He said to-day that
he had now obtained all the power he
desired, and was devoting himself to
differentiation of the rays. He thought
he was on the right track, and hoped
within a short time to state that he
was able to control the rays so that
he could see the different organs in
the human body clearly and distinctly
This, Mr.. Tesla said, was the real thing
aimed at by exDerimenters with the
rays. In addition to seeing through a
body, Mr.. Tesla had photographed the
skeleton of his assistant at a distance
of six feet from the tube.
The screen used by Mr.. Tesla was the
platino- bario-cyanide screen instead of
the fiuorescent screen taken by Ed
son, and he is confident that it is bet
ter for the purpose. He is now hard
at work upon the differentiation of the