The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-12
HANDLE THE RAYS.
GREAT INTEREST IN EUROPE OVER
THE NEW LIGHT.

With for Years bnt with Littie cocccss
Until Now.
New York, Feb. 1.-THE results OBJ
tanned by Professor Roentgen in his
experiments have been most astonish-
ing, and details Of them have just been
| brought here by the European mails. A
lecture was given in Berlin on the new
discovery, and the lecturer, in mis-
course, made several striking photo
graphs: He took a purse, put key
and some coin into it, wrapped up the
whole in black paper, and laid it on
! Photographic plate. In order to show
the great penetrating powers Of the
rays he laid on the top Of the wrapped
up purse a board two fingers in thick
ness.
He then exposed the whole to the
rays electrically produced in the Roent-
| gen tubes. After about fifteen minutes,
| which were occupied with various very
| interesting demonstrations, the lecturer
/ took out the plate, developed it and had
| it thrown by Emelight onto a white
| curtain. With the greatest clearness
were seen the key and the coins, while
even the outlines Of the purse were
scarcely visible.
Among other photographs shown was
one representing the hand Of a man,
| who, years ago, ran into his hand
piece of glass, which could not be ex-
! tracted, and always penetra ted deeper
The photograph of the skeleton Of the
! hand produced by Professor Roentgen's
method showed this bit of glass quite
| distinctly. Another interesting expert
ment was the following:
The lecturer took a box, the sides of
which Were held together by screws,
only the heads Of them, of course be-
ing visible to the human eye, the other
parts being inside the wood. In this
box he laid a watch chain, and then
exposed the whole to the cathode rays
The photograph produced showed the
chain, the whole length of all the
screws, and not a trace of the wood.
Another photograph Of a hand showed
clearly a broken bone in one of the fing-
ers. Very interesting also was the re-
production of a photograph of a large
metal plate. It appeared that the plate
had been broken in different places.
then welded together, and so smoothed
over that one saw nothing, of the Joints !
The cathode rays brought the fracture
10 light quite distinctly. Would not
these cathode rays be useful in looking
for flaws in our armor plates?
The lecturer warned his audience
against premature optimism touching |
the practical employment of Professor |
Roentgen's discovery. He neverthe- |
less. said that hopes were justified that |
1t would be brought to greater perfec- |
ton before long.
The cathode rays were put to practi- !
cal use not long ago in a European hos |
pital, and the results obtained demon !
Strated that they may yet became most
valuable aids in modern surgery. There
were two patients on whom operations
were to be performed. The photographs.
pictures taken showed with the great
est clearness and precision the injuries
caused by a revolver shot in the left
hand of man and the position of the
small projectile. In the other case. that |
OF a girl, the position and nature. of a
malformation in the left foot were as
certained. The experiments were re-
garded as affording a means of determ-
ming the exact spot where an operation
may be necessary.
But not in medicine and surgery alone
do cathode rays promise to make magi-
cal disclosures. The iron worker is to be
made beneficiary, too. Hitherto"
says Vienna dispatch to the London
Standard, lit has not been possible,
without very complicated process, to
test the uniformity of the structure of
metal work, as, for instance. in the case
OF gun barrels. iron rails, railway
wheels, and so on, or to distinguish at
sight THE different varieties of iron and
steel. All this, ii is anticipated, will b..
shortly achievable simply by help of
me new photography. 1t is no exagger-
q n hat 49, I
revolution in many branches
Of metallic industry, especially in the ]
manufacture of arms. and such a revo-
luton, it is confidently expected, VIII s
result from the experiments that have
already been commenced in Vienna
Exact reproductions. for instance ! /
rave been obtained Of inscriptions or I
relief drawings on signet rings and me-
,aIlic surfaces. and in such reproduc- I
ions every one will agree that the (
thickness of the object cannot fail TO {
nave some influence upon the relative /
,learness of the photograph To the (
great establishment of the experiment.
Ars, however, Il has been found that the
metallic objects exposed to Roentgen's i
avs show in the Photographic repro '
iuctlon all the inequalities that exist '
n the structure of the metals, such "a "
quality, which theorists recognize az
'eing due 70 the great constituencies of g
he rays TO variations in thickness. has /
-ttracted the attention of practical &
men, who are beginning to utilize il for q
netaIlurgic teStS-teSts which could s
hitherto only be carried out either by 0
hemical reactions or by some process e
r other that required great exper. T
ence, methods which all took up a con- S
iderable amount Of time. Z
1t is now hoped that it will soon be I
ossible 10 look, so TO speak, into the C
cry insides Of metals and metallic OBJ
ects Of all sorts by the use OF the new s
avs, just as doctors now confidently "
Xpect. by help Of the same rays. 10 be L
bic to look into the inside of the living q
uman body simply by photographic I.
The fact already mentioned. that f
ach metal is distinct from every other c
fetal in relation 10 RoentEen's ravs. Il e,
: the utmost Importance for the prac- s.
lea! applications now in view. and. IN. ! y
eed. Is not OF less importance than the q
7nsltiNeneSS Of The rays 70 the slightest | O
ariation in the thickness Of the metals
or all alloys or composite metaIS-sr5
lost OF those used in the na0ufsr-1I-a &
[ arms are ccmposite-wsL thanks - ! !.
us characteristic quality. show on the =
notPgFaphlc plate whether throug<1
" or not, and where and % what ev- 3
nj the one metal (as. for instance
nc or copper in the so-callsd steel
ronze cannon has not tborourlIv
with the other. OTire Y
the intensity Of the phor0gra rs,fOT