The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-05-25
Cat or Mouse Can Sec Him in
tho Dark by His Own Light
so SAYS PROF. GOOlSpEED
utter's Discovery Goes Far Toward Ex-
p|ilnlng the Mystery Of RadIun, That
Strangest Of All Substances.

way Of making luminous TO the human
eye the rays that are constantly being
thrown OF by the human body. the time
may be coming when each person can
light his own way without recourse 10
artificial illum.nants.
IL has made remarkable sensation,
this discovery made by Prof. Arthur
w. Goodspeed, of the University OF Penn
sylvania, that human beings diffuse rays
OF sufficient intensity TO make a photo
graph by them
Here In a non-technical account OF the
newest and very extraordinary advance
IN SCIENCE. written by Prof. Goodspeed
himself. describing how he came to make
tho discovery, the methods employed in
his experiments, and his own explanation
OF the phenomena.
II seems almost unbelievable that
human beings are storage batteries, so 10
speak. OF light and power But Prof.
Goodspeed has proved II. Incidentally
his discovery emphasizes how painfully
Inferior arc certain faculties OF human
According 10 Prof. Goodspeed there
rs httle doubt that IL cats and mice could
talk or communicate intelligently with
iordly man we should long ago have
known that people. along with inanimate
things, throw of rays very freely
A cat or a mouse can see man in
the dark by his own light, Just as a
man can see freely in the night by the
insects own phosphoresence
of "A
human being are not as brilliant as
those Of a searchlight. but they are suffi-
cient for the peculiarly sensitive organs
OF vision OF a cat or a mouse, or 10 effect
q Photographic plate.
Prof Goodspeed looks upon the fact
that human beings shed rays as being
but a small part of his discovery. The
important thing to his mind. is the fact
metals and other substances have the
same characteristics.
EXPLAINS MYSTERY OF RADIUM
For one thing, this discovery OF Prof
Goodspeed goes for toward explaining
the mystery OF radium. that strangest
OF all substances which has puzzled
scientific men ever since Il was isolated.
Radium has the power OF throwing off
light and heat of very considerable In
tensity without changing I'm any way.
L -
burns and never burns up.
In order TO realize what an imperfect
organ the human eye Is, from sclen-
tific standpoint IL may be said that only
about two per cent. of the radiant en-
ergy that comes frcm the sun IS capa-
BILE OF affecting the human eye.
1t would be absurd TO suppose that the
other 9s per cent is lost. and t Is Prof.
.Gocdspeed' theory that the invisible en-
ergy absorbed by various bodies on the
earth, including human beings, is DIFF
fused in greater or less degree.
1t must not be supposed that any one
can take a photograph by the rays that
emanate from the human body simply
by holding ones hand or standing be-
fore a camera in a dark room. These
new rays are absolutely invisible. Just
as are chemical or actlnic rays ia the
spectrum, and TO medicine, and they have
to be excited by X-rays.
PRODUCE GooDsPEED RAYS.
Just as electricity and a Crooks tube
produced the X-rays, so do the action OF
X-rays on the human body produce the
Goodspeed rays. IL those which have been
proved to come from the human body
may be so called.
Prof. Goodspeed's experiments were
made in a room absolutely dark, so far
as the human eye IL concerned. He placed
his Crooke's tube i'm a box which ef-
fectually cut off the optical efforescence
which always accompanies the N-rays.
lie cut off the Photographic plates by
means OF lead sheets, which the X-rays
cannot penetrate. The X-rays agitated
the rays In the human body and caused
them TO radiate with sufficient energy
from his hand, which he held over the
plate, to make Photograph. such as is
made directly with an X-ray.
Prof. Goodspeed is one OF the foremost
living authorities on the X-ray. He is
president of-the American Roentgen- Ray
society. and he is an officer and a mem
ber OF dozen other prominent scienti-
fc bodies. both in this country and
abroad. He was one OF the first to pro-
duce X-rays i'm America, and he has de-
voted much attention TO experimenting
with them. His discoveries have been OF
benefit to the medical profession and to
science I'm general.
He has been an instructor and profess
sor IN the University of Pennsylvania
since he was graduated from Harvard
in 1884. receiving his degree of Ph. ID.
from Penn" I'm 1889. He is assistant pro-
fessor of physics OF the university. and
for four years he has been the acting
lead Of the department
Trof. Goodspecd's $ own account, advance
rroofs OF which were recently SHOWN of
his discovery was written for the old
Tenn, university publication. in re-
sponse to inquiries made by und aigral-
..atss and members OF the alumni