The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-10-27
MORE ABOUT THEM.
DR.. Hartigan Talks Entertain
ingly of the X Rays.
Tells Of their discovery aud results Of
Later inresiigations-L0ca Machines
and their w0rk-yaluabIe Acquisi-
lions to the Community.

IOns W tHt tOulBuHit5
Local interest in the X Rays has
been very great ever since the install
lation of the two in the University.
The subject is one Of absorbing inter-
est and anything about the marvellous
creations is eagerly received. There
fore it gives US great pleasure to give
our readers to-day an interview with
DIR. j. W. HartigaR on the subject.
| He has one of the machines in his
department and is an enthusiast In
| his use of it. He has Investigated
the history of the discovery and de-
velopment Of the machines until he
| speaks as an expert regarding them.
When asked to talk for publication
regarding the matter he delivered
himself of an intensely interesting
talk from which the following is
| taken:
Probably no discovery of modern
times has so commanded the atten-
ton OF the civilized world as that of
the X Ray, and when it is remem-
bered that this newest servant Of
science is not yet two years old, what
must we expect along this line in the
very near future?
In struggling to demonstrate that
the phenomena Of electricity are close
ly connected to those of light, Pro-
fessor William Konrod Roentgen, of
Wuerzburg, in December, S95, during
experiments with the Crooks tube,
in which he surrounded them with
black paste-board impermeable to or
dinaryli & hit rays, noticed, when
a current of electricity went through
the tube, a light upon a screen stand
ing near by the screen being painted
with m-platino-cyanide. Learn
ing from this that invisible rays must
come through the black paste-board
surrounding the tube and showing on
the fiuorecsent screen, he began to ex-
perimennt in photography with
the strange light. He found a sharp
silhouette of his hand formed on dry
ing plates, the light passing through
the corner of a wooden box contain
ing the plates.
He also found that bone-thick
disks of metal, would produce silhou-
cites. This discovery attracted the
attention of the surgical world
and up to this time surgery has de-
rived most, If not all, the practical
benefit of the discovery. Prof
Roentgen suggested the name of X
Ray for the new light, but Prof
Zolliker, of Wuerzburg, proposed to
call them Roentgen Rays, which is
an eminently appropriate name.
The first experiments made with
the light in America were by Tesla,
Pupin and Mayor in physics, and by
Morton, Keen, Buerry, White and
Beck in surgery. The first American
surgeon to derive practical advantage
from its use was the distinguished
New York surgeon, Karl Beck, him
self student at one time In Roent-
gems laboratory.
The pictures are called X Ray pho
tographs, shadow photographs, radio
graphs, cathode photographs, Ca
biography, electro photographs, fluor-
ographs, skiagraphs, photographs and
Roentographs.
At the present time much interest
of practical kind is centered in the
experiments now going on in the de-
partments of Biology and Physics in
the West Virginia University, where
two Of the best and most modern and
up-to-date machines are being used
Already good microscopic views of
arteries and veins have been demon
strated with one of the machines,
while fair skiagraph has been made
showing the other soft tissues Of a
hand. A foreign body of metal has
also been successfully photographed
through bone. This will enable the
surgeon to work accurately with the
photograph as guide, in removing
foreign substances from the body.
Good skiagraphs can be taken in
from to 10 minutes, while for en-
ergeEcy work the surgeon can locate
foreign bodies with the Horoscope in
few seconds.