The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-01
TELEPHONE PHOTOGRAPHS.
The Newest Development of Dr..
ROentgen's Process.

From the Philadelphia Press.
Boston, Feb. 26.-Dr. II. L. Smith. ona
of the most prominent physicians in
the Back Bay district in this CITY bss
brought about the most remarkable de
velopment of the Roentgen idea Vet ~
corded. Photographs or rather outliTo
drawings have been transmitted by feie
graph, but there is no record of photo
graphing by telephone without a camera
The doctor merely placed his plateholder
at the telephone transmitter, which bad
been so arranged as to make the beii
ringing apparatus work continuously AMI
left il there about half an hour ~
taking out the plate it was found after
being developed to contain distinct out
lines of the small objects on the holder
DR.. Smith has also demonstrated con-
clusively that the shadowgraphic effects
on Photographic plates may be obtained
wholly without the use of vacuum tubes
He is connected with the city hospitai
and has been experimenting for the
past few days with the new Roentgen
photography at his home. He has shown
by a score of experiments that the
shadow photographs may be produced
with the electrical action generated bv
an ordinary arc or incandescent light
by a Parable battery or by the current
used to ring the bell in the telephone
transmitter. One striking peculiarly Of
the shadowgraphS obtained by this ex-
perimenter is that they disappear il fhs
developed plate is exposed too long 10
the fixing solution. They have, how
ever, been quite distinct enough to esta h.
lish the fact that the mysterious Y raw
is not peculiar to the cathode, and that
a vacuum is not necessary to their pro-
duction.
This afternoon the doctor explained his
method of procedure, which is so simple
and cheap as to make it available for
every one He put plate into his holder
and on the outside fastened some coins
and other small objects. The latter were
held in position by strips of wood, and the
whole was placed in a wooden box. the
cover of which was then tightly shut
There were thus a layer of wood nearly
three-qUarters of an inch in thickness
between the coins and the light. Then
the box was placed against the wall of Dr.
HaleS church at the corner of Newbury
and Exter streets and allowed to remain
there from IL O'Clock at night until the
next morning exposed to the rays of the
arc light diagonally across the corner, on
opening the holder and developing the
the objects on the outside of the holder.
They were, to be sure, somewhat faint
but enough of the outlines remained, even
after several days to show that the plate
had been affected.
Subsequent experiments were made with
an incandeScent light placed about six
inches from the plate holder and the re-
suits were equally satisfactory. Then
the holder, with various small objects on
the outside was placed near a Parable
battery and distinct shadowgraphs of the
objects obtained To the unscientific
mind, however, the most interesting eX-
pertinent of all was performed by the
use of the telephone, as already narrated.
By the use of the incandescent light the
doctor has secured excellent shadow
graphs Of the human hand and also of the
arm as far up as the elbow. Experiments
elsewhere thus far have been able TO
photograph the hand only, but the doc
tors plates showed clearly the outlines of
the bones in the forearm, as well as the
articulation of the joints at the wrist.
These results were obtained by an expos
ure of twenty minutes.