The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-29
LECTURE ON THE X-RAY.
Delivered by Prof. Sharpsteen In the
Auditorium Of High School...Many
Interesting Demonstrations.

The electrical engineer no doubt
would have reaped much benefit from
the X-rays lecture by Prof s. II.
| Sharpsteen, given in the high school
auditorium last night, but to the lay
man with little or no knowledge of the
technical terms used, it was rather a
| disappointment.
As an electrician Prof. Sharpsteen
| is unquestionably among the foremost
| but unfortunately he is lacking in the
ability tospresent his ideas on the
subject so that the average man can
! grasp them.
OF course it is a difficult thing to
lecture on a technical subject to a lay
| audience, particularly on such an ex-
! tremely technical subject as X-rays.
1t is not to be understood however,
that last nights audience was bored
by any means. Many of the expert
ments were such that the untutored
could understand them quite thorough
| ly and there We're only a few which
could not be appreciated in at least
crude kind of way.
The lecturer told of the different
! kinds of electricity, how the ordinary
commercial current, with which build
|
means of various kinds of apparatus
| into electricity with high voltage for
X-ray and other experiments and
gave some mystifying experiments to
| demonstrate the depth to which twen-
| tieth-century man has delved into
| this marvellous science.
| One of the most interesting parts
of the lecture was the portion dealing
| Il " hN,r 20 ,r-1,t ,talN ,lA ,f
the subject Prof. Sharpsteen was
forced to give particular attention
from the fact that his wife on whom
he experimental last December is
still in the Post Graduate hospital,
New York. under treatment for a
| burn on her side.
She was exposed to the rays for
thirty minutes and ten days later the
skin at the point where the rays had
been directed commenced to discolor
| Then the flesh became dead and II
was necessary as a precaution against
fatal results to cut away piece OF
flesh as big around as a silver dollar
and an inch and half deep.
Professor Sharpstein's theory Is that
the rays themselves do not cause the
burns, but some static matter, as YET
undiscovered, which is coeXistent with
the rays has the burning effect. He
was brought at this conclusion by the
fact that the rays can be sent through
the body at distance of three or foul
feet, and do effective work without
burning, yet when the tube is placed
close to the body the burning is quite
possible. This would indicate, he con
tends, that there is some other matter
radiant like the X-rays, but not So
far reaching in its influence, generated
in the tube at the same time 9 tn,
rays.
In concluding his lecture, he prophe
sled that within ten years Scranton
will be suppling the farmers here
abouts with cheap electrical power t
propel their plows, harrows, reaper!
and the like.
Nearly all the school board officials
and members of the high school facult.
were in attendance at the lecture. Fiv,
Scranton physicians also attended a
the boards request and IL they anC
the board agree that the apparatus il
all right it is to be purchased for us
in the high school physical laboratory