The San Francisco call., 1897-04-25
A Possibility That the Rays May Be Ex-
amp1es Of Universal Force

About one year ago the scientific and
unscientihc world was startled by an an
nouncement that q professor in the uni
versi'y at Wurzburg, Germany, had dis
covered means whereby the hidden in
terror OF the human frame might be rem
dered visible. Professor Wilhelm Konrad
Roentgen, while engaged in electrical ex-
periments, discovered that certain rays"
penetrated opaque bodies and produced
effects analogous to those produced by
rays of light upon a sensitive photograph
plate, although the plate was incIosed in
plate-holder. In other words perfect
outline picture was produced without ex-
posure to light.
Unable at the time to definitely deter
mine the chemical, mechanical or other
attributes OF the rays, the term X was
given them, X standing Tor an unknown
quantity. Since their discovery great
many people have satisfied their curiosity
regarding the rays, and have learned that
it is quite easy by the employ ment of the
ray to produce photograph of the bony
structure OF the body, or of coins. etc.,
hidden within q box or purse. The flesh
of the BODY and the substance Of the box
or purse offer no impairment to the pas
sage of the X ray.
These remarkable happenings. involv-
ing sudden setting aside of all previous
conceptions of the limit and power of
human vision. however artifcially aided,
were sufficient to confer upon the newly
found power a reputation bordering on
the miraculous. ana it is not improbable
that many people believe that with the
use OF the y ray it is possible to see for
long distances through walls OF houses
without number. 1t is to assist in Great
ing proper idea of what the new dis
covery really is, what 1t is capable of
doing, and to what extent the knowledge
of its qualities and abilities may modify
our present conception of natural physics
that this article is presented.
All forces of powers are termed energy.
The science of physics uses the term 'ra-
diant energy" as meaning energy pro-
ceeding outward from source and pro-
ducing effects at some distant point. The
energy may be transmitted by its actual
transfer to the distant point of matter, as
the flight of bullet from q gun; or it
may propagate itself along line by the
motion OF the particles of the media
through which it operates. If you lay a
each other, and then strike one end of the
row the marble at the distant end will
move away. All the marbles internedi-
ate between the one struck and the one
moved will show no movement. Each
one transfers the energy it receives to the
next one, no one undergoing mere than
very slight displacement. This is the
movement of ordinary light wave mo-
tons." The former, represented by the
flight OF the bullet, is that of the Y ray.
The y ray is produced by the employ
ment of glass globe from which the air
is almost but not quite exhausted. Two
wires enter the globe through its glass
sides. One of the wires terminates inside
the globe in small concave disk; the other
wire has on its end, within the globe, a
small platinum plate set at an angle of
forty-five degrees. A current of electricity
OF very high frequency and potentiality,
obtained either from the secondary wire
of a powerful induction coil, or from a