The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-12-18
THE X-RAY.

ana completely astouhueu
even the most astute and learned
scientists of the time. But we can
now see that it was the perfectly logl'
cal sequence of a long series of dis
coveries, following numberless expert =
ments by many individuals with
scientific toy known as the Geissler 7
tube. Geissler had demonstrated the
peculiar behavior of electric dis
charges through different gases con- +
fined in sealed tube and under varl' (
GUS degrees of vacuum, whereby the !
spark became a more or less steady
stream
Following Geissler, Sir William /
Crookes became the chief investigator
along these lines, and by means OF
miniature wind-wheels and turbines III
his improved tubes, now KNOWN as
Crookes tubes, demonstrated that the
current of electricity flowing from the
negative pole and known as the cain
ode stream could be Transformed lnto
kinetic energy. Radiant matter was
the term used by Crookes to describe
the highly rarefied gas, or ultra case
Gus matter" which he found to pro-
duce certain peculiar mechanical anu
luminous effects when charge or nlgh
potential electricity was passeo
through it.
AS with all new thoughts, the idea !
was fiercely attacked by many OF the
scientific men Of the time, who strenu-
ously argued against it and endeaVoreo
to prove that both the theory and the
demonstrations amounted to nothing
But few choice spirits pressed on.
Lenard demonstrated that the cath
ode stream could be detected outside
) the tube as we'll as within it and that
it could be DETECTED or attracted by
a magnet A professor of physics in
the University of Wurzburg, in ba-
varia, W. K Roentgen, noted in 1875
, that substances such as potassium
D nlatinocvanide became luminous Wneh
hroueht near to tube exhausted 10 .
l. vaaunm so that the glass was orishtiy
r bosnhorescent. About this time also
II he noticed that a large number Oh ph''
a. tographic plates placed within rahse
q. If q Crookes tube with which he was
@. exnerimenting were logged, although
e. thew were simply protected from hght
il by the usual light-tight plate holders
ne and he began to suspect connection
tn between the two phenomena. A few
ut more experiments and the idea crystal
In nzed-he viewed his own bones
a through the flesh of his hand and
wo. knowledge of the new ray was born
be- November 8, 1895.
JIG Because the ray which produced
uiy fuorescence showed him the bones in
I'LL. the living human body, affected photo
y. graphic plates while inclosed in light
en' tight boxes and could not be reflect
0n' ed, refracted nor DETECTED by a mag
net, Roentgen knew that he had dis
ect covered new and unbroken ray and
low he therefore called 1t the X-ray.
un- 1t was Domenici who discovered
ute that the X-rays as they emanate from
MS the tube are in fact mixture of RAYS
gy' of different qualities, so the minds O,
OF investigators were turned to still fur
ula Their improving the X-ray tube. Mean
elo time the radioactive elements were
Ia discovered and the electron was dem
low onstrated in 1899.
lis' 1t may be asked how 1t is possible
uis' to distinguish between such radiations
efl- of different wave lengths This i
ING achieved through demonstrating h,
Aeu means of photography, or a fiuorescen
CA screen, or the electroscope, the "pene
''' trating power" or hardness" of the
ohs short wave emanations after travers
loi, ing various thicknesses of a medium
'ou which absorbs X-rays, such as, for OK
'e'' ample, aluminium. The shorter th,
'eh- wave length the harder" the raw
luy and the harder" the ray the create
rat its penetrating power. Soddy has dem
Ves onstrated the penetration of one.hal
aIa inch Steel This discovery of the com
Is pick character Of the X-ray tube ema
III nations and those from radiant sub
'ine stances in general created the nee,
OF system for designating the diffe,
Is ent rays, and they have therefore bee,
and named alpha, beta. gamma from tn
ESQ., Greek alphabet corresponding wit
l Is our a, b and C.
ra' The original X-ray tube shot tn
in rays from the cathode directly agains
for the glass at the opposite end; subst
re- quently metal target known as tn
and anti-cathode was introduced to r.
ere ceive the rays, but the bombardmep
red from the stream Of corpuscles or ele,
YES irons was so intense that the large
rva- was soon raised to a white heat, an
are it would become necessary to stop tn
ign action For these and other reason
ime which we will discover later radiu1
the with it's gamma rays seemed to offt
inic certain advantages over the X-ra
,nts tube, but recently Dessauer Of Fran
re- fort.on.Man has perfected a tube
per which he can produce rays practical
identic; with the gamma ray fro
ans radium or mesothoPium, the ratio
low hardness being as l to IL. Thes
results were obtained by employing
3 of special and highly efficient water CT