The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-15
MICROSCOPE A SUCCESS.
MIR. Edison's Invention Shown at the
Electrical Exposition.

Electrical Exposition.
Thomas A. Edison's Horoscope was
shown last night at the Electrical Expo
sition to nearly 2,O00 persons says the
New York Times.
The Horoscope exhibition was great
success from every point Of view. Every
one who wished saw the bones of his oil
her hand, wrist, and forearm. Mr.. Edl
son was satisfied. because be had redeemed
his promise to the public. The managers
of the exposition were satisfied, because
they had secured the first public view OF
a 1uorescent screen, with the inventor
himself to show it in operation.
The sight-seers were admitted through
one door Of the prepared room, and i'm.
mediately found themselves in almost
total darkness, emphasized by black
curtains covering the walls. The only
light shown was one small, red glass in
candescent bulb. They were formed in
line as fast as they were admitted, aud
each one, as he Oh she arrived opposite
tho fiuorescent screen. placed his CT her
hand behind the screen where the Roent-
gen rays could fall upon it.
Mr.. Edison sat patiently on the raised
platform turning the current on and off
every few seconds, while Mr.. Stieringer
acted as floor manager, aud Mr.. Oster-
berg at intervals instructed the visitors
how the hands should be placed in order
to Yot no bopos
The darkness of the room had very
subduing effect upon conversation, and
the procession, women included, passed
the huorescent screen in almost complete
silence.
One woman thrust her hand too far
back and touched the wires connected
with the Roentgen tube, receiving a por-
tion OF an electrical current whose esti-
mated pressure was 240 600 volts, though
the quantity of it was only some mill
ionths of an ampere. She uttered sup
pressed exclamti ton, which would have
been scream If she had given full vent
to it, but which was fortunately noticed
only by her male escort and Mr.. Stier-
niger. The male escort thought it his
duty to offer to fig hit somebody, but was
quieted down by a few soothing words
from a policeman who stood by Mr..
Stieringer's side, and who Immediately
understood the cause of the trouble. The
woman was not hurt, though she might
have been severely shocked, and the only
person really frightened was Mr.. Edison's
assistant, Fred" who was mounting
guard over the precious tube.
The women carried off all the glory
that was to be gained at the exhibition.
They knew their own bones when they
saw them, which was more than soma of
the men did. Part of this quick percep-
ton came from the fact that most of the
women wore rings, and the margin be.
tween the bones of the fingers and the
rings was too obvious to admit of skepti
cism.
One clever woman placed two small
coins in the palm of her hand, covered
by hor glove, and saw the coins plainly
through glove and all.
One man said audibly, after he had
passed the fiuoreScent screen, that 1t was
nothing but o Sheet of ground glass. Mr..
Stieringer heard him. and brought him
back, making him hold up his wrist un-
til he saw hole through it.
Many Of the men. after passing the
screen, stopped to gaze at the dim figure
of Mr.. Edison, who was seated on plat
form in the background. They seemed to
look upon him as much greater curios-
ity than even the marvellous effects of the
Roentgen rays. This can hardly be con-
sidered strange, when Mr.. Edison said
last night that he had not been as high
up tho city as Fortythird street for the
last seven year S, while his visits below
that point might be reckoned at three Oh
four to the year.
Before the exhibition of the fluorescent
screen began Mr.. Edison told some facts
to a reporter for The New York Times
about the behavior of the Roentgen tube
which are not generally known even to
men Of science, who have made hundreds
of Roentgen photographs by means OF
the rays:
Lime glass is better material than
lead glass out of which to make these
tubes" said Mr.. Edison, land, other
things being equal the thinner the glass
is the better the effects I use a lime
glass specially made for the purpose,
which is carefully freed from all traces OF
zinc and other impurities.
THE electrodes are made of aluminium,
and each is about the size of quarter
found by experiment that when the
Roentgen rays converged TO a focus from
one of the electrodes upon any part of the
glass tube they were liable to heat the
glass so hot Mt one particular spot that q
hole the size OF q pin point was finally
made through it, thus destroying the
NtsCuuhl.
''To proven this l had hole drilled
in the middle of each eleotrode in order
to dispense the rays and prevent them
from focusing upon one point. This
made it necessary to fasten each electrode
to the platinum wire by means of cir
at one side. Still further to render the
rays as little damaging to the glass as
possible, / f1xod the electrodes at an angle
so that tho rays should strike the side OF
the glass tube atan acute angle.
"The Roentgen phenomenon is form
Of energy distinct from ordinary electrical
or Hertz waves. 1t is bast manifested
when the tube is heated. You may turn
on the proper current of electricity and
get poor Roentgen effects, while a stream
o f sparks will pass inside the tube from
one eleotrode to the other. If you then
heat the tube from the outside, eithe,
with spirit lamp or a blowpipe, the
sparkling inside will disappear and the
SGrange Roentgen energy will ha created