The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-15
MAY SEE THE HEART BEAT.
Wonderful New Applications of
Roentgen's X-rays.

Roentgen's X.rays.
Electrician Edward p. Thompson Says He
Has Discovered a Means by (which sthe
Processes of Life and Other Hidden Mo-
lions May Be Directly Observed.
Edward P. Thompson, a consulting
electrical engineer, of o Beekman street.
who has been experimenting with Prof
Rosntgen's discovery, made the statement
yesterday that he had discovered a pro-
cess whereby motion. otherwise invisible
might be observed with the use of the
new X-rays. Mr.. Thompson says that
by his process the movements of watch
can be observed through the case, and
the op GRAFTON Of the interior organs of a
living human being or animal be made
visible.
Mr.. Thompson has not yet been able TO
make complete experiments, and has not
secured results that conolusively demon
strate the praoticability of the discovery
he claims to have made. He has sub
m.tted his process to several experts, in
Guiding Prof Pupin of Columbia Col
lege and Thomas Edi on, and says they
fully agree that it is entirely feasible
He is to continue his experiments in
Edigon's laboratory, and expects soon to
show absolute results.
Mr.. Thompson claims that the SIM
plicity of his discovery will make its
feasibility easily apparent to those ac-
quainted with the new process.
The value of such discovery to the
be imagined from the claim of the inven-
tor that with it the action OF the heart
and the digestion of food can be observed
Mr.. Thompson says that his discovery
may be identical with that of Prof. Sal
vioni of Perugia, who read a paper be-
fore the Rome Medical Academy few
days ago on a process which enabled the
rays, to see through anything the rays
can penetrate. Prof Salvioni, however,
did not disclose his process while Mr.
Thompson, who has already had the
priority Of his discovery attested, says
he is quite willing that the world
Should know all about his process.
''In the process rs carried out by
Roent gen, the effect of the cathode rays
after passing through Opaque objects,
must be developed by photography, and
therefore, q great deal of time is occupied
between the exposure and the obtaining
Of the picture" said Mr.. Thompson.
"By my process 1t is intended that OBJ
tscts ordinarily invisible may be ex-
Rmined instantly, and especially that
motion may be represented to the eye.
For example, if a purse containing coins
besshaken, the movement of the coins
relatively to each other will be apparent,
and also the motion of the purse as a
whole. Again, with powerful rays, it
ought to be- possible with this process to
see the motion of the muscles and the
joints, when ones finger is bent or to he
able to distinguish a sprain from Irsak
by moving the arm back and forth; or to
see the circulation of the blood, the beat
ing of the heart, and the motion Of sap
in trees and plants, and of all other OBJ
jects which at present cannot be OBJ
served.
The process consists of three steps,
First, in generating cathode rays, prefer
ably with an aluminium tube to permit
the easy exit Of the rays; second, in re-
ceiving the rays upon substance which
will change the refrangibility of the rays
and convert them into visible rays, and
third, the interception of the rays, moro
or less, by non-homogeneous object,
W. sreby the fuorescent material, such
as canary glass, will be differently il
Illuminated according to the strength of
the rays after passing through the said
object. The fuorescent materials are
Buranium or canary glass, barium plati-
cyanide, barium manganic-cyanide
fuchaine, and other duorescing materials
If desired to obtain picture without
representing the motion, and to obtain
the picture Immediately without any
necessity of development, luminous paint
such as the chloride of barium, stroun-
tiumLor calcium chloride, or other mate
rails which will store up the light and
hold it for time. as the natural chloride
or iuorspar, should be used.
In order to perform the operation the
fuoreseent material, should be upon a
plane SURFACE, preferably, as. for exam
ple, with uranium it would be fiat piece
Of glass containing that material, or,
with the cyanides, pieoe of paper satur-
ated with the substance. The generating
bulb should be covered so as to allow
only the invisible cathode rays to pass for
producing the effect, an Of course the
room should be very dark. It is thought
that the rays may be made parallel, es-
pecially by having the cathode plane
surface for radiating them all ractioally
in one general direction
when mentioned the idea to Prof.
Pupin and others they thought I intend
ed to accomplish the observation of hid
den motion by the kaleidoscope, and de-
clared it would be impossible, beoau Sc
the Roentgen rays could not photograph
!nstantsneously. When I explained to
them, however, that I employed the
principal of illumination of fiuorescent
II &k rial in a dark hoY nv the action of