St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-04-02
EDISON SUBDUEs THE X RAYS.

Ever since the announcement came
across the ocean of the discovery by
the Bavarian professor Of the rays of
light, invisible to human eye, that
penetrate solid substances regarded
as opaque, and cast a shadow that the
sensitive plate Of the camera repro
duces, speculation in and out Of scien-
tific circles has been active as to the
possibilities Of the discovery. The fer
tile but unframed imaginations of the
scribes of the press have found a rich
field among these possibilities, and
readers have been regaled and as
founded with their creations. Now
and then one with a smattering of sci
entific terms has concocted a more
than usually plausible narration Of
some advance in the conquest and sub
jugation Of Roentgen's x rays. It
was this exploitation of the subject
that led prudent readers to regard as
a fake" the special from New York
stating that Edison had finally found
the means Of making the human eye
sensible to the cathode rays. There
was a certain particularly Of detail,
combined with Indebtedness of de-
scription Of the instrument employed.
that raised suspicion of its accuracy.
But later information affords ground
for the belief that the wizard Of Men
10 Park has added another branch of
laurel to his crown, removing the eff
fects Of the x rays from the region
of shadows and bringing them within
reach Of the human eye. He makes
it an illuminant which reveals to the
eye the interiors of opaque bodies. This
vastly increases the utility of the rays.
So long as they could be used only
to produce shadows Of coins and keys,
or of the bones Of the body, they were
interesting as a novelty, but their
practical use was plainly very limited.
Beyond their employment in surgery
in the location Of bullets in the body.
there seemed to be little Of utility.
What was needed was something to
translate these invisible rays into rays
within the scope Of the eyes percepti-
bility without losing their penetrative
power, so that the eye could see the
Interiors Illuminated by them. This
Edison claims to have accomplished.
with the powerful cathode light be-
hind his patient, he gazes through a
screen Of prepared chemicals and sees
every organ Of the body as plainly
as he sees the dishes on his dinner ta-
ble," says the writer.
Tungstate of calcium is the medium
Edison has found that gives to the eye
the capacity to see the opaque in
teriors, The crystals form the lining
Of pyramidal box with open base,
at whose apex is an aperture for the
eye shielded from exterior light. The
person or object to be looked into"
Is placed between the Crookes tubes
and this Screen" as Edison calls the
box. The object is then moved to or
from the tubes to get the focus need
ed for the examination to be made. At
three feet from the tubes the rays are
SO powerful that nothing can be seen.
but at four feet the skeleton becomes
distinct. At six feet the rays illume
the body, making visible the internal
organs of the body, while at eight feet
the body is seen through the clothing.
If, and the marvel is so astounding
that the 'ff'' comes involuntari1y, this
discovery is not the Pigment Of some
more than usually skillful scribe of
the press, what was at most curiosi-
ty becomes one Of the most useful and
important assistants Of science that
the century has produced.