History of X-Rays
X-rays were discovered accidentally while studying cathode rays. Scientists over the years made adjustments to the technology and improved the implementation of X-rays for medical use. However, it was discovered that prolonged exposure could prove to be deadly, resulting in the controlled use of X-rays. Today, further advances have been made and adaptations to larger projects have proved fruitful.
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History
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In 1895, William Roentgen began investigating the effects of vacuum tube equipment that had an electrical discharge pass through them. He installed a thin aluminum window to allow cathode rays to exit the tube. He also added a thin piece of cardboard to protect the aluminum from the electrostatic field. Roentgen noticed that a fluorescent image was created on a cardboard screen that was painted with barium platinocyanide. On November 8, Roentgen repeated the experiment with a larger tube. He determined a new type of ray was responsible, and he termed them "X-rays."
Significance
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For the next few weeks, Roentgen continued his studies. In one event, he experimented with metals that could block the radiation. He brought a lead sheet in between the tube and the barium platinocyanide and stepped in front of the X-ray. To his astonishment, he saw the first radiological image: his own skeleton on the cardboard. He proceeded to write a paper, published on December 28 along with an X-ray picture of his wife's hand.
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Features
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Improvements and further studies were done by a variety of scientists upon reading Roentgen's paper. Frank Austin of Dartmouth College made the discovery that a tube containing a small target of mica directed the X-rays more efficiently, and on February 3, 1896, an X-ray of the fractured wrist of Eddie McCarthy became the first medical use of the technology.
Nikola Tesla also experimented with X-rays, developing a single-electrode tube. He discovered that X-rays are created when charged particles such as electrons pass through matter. In a lecture in 1897, Tesla informed the New York Academy of Sciences that he had learned of the dangers of exposure to X-rays.
Considerations
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Thomas Edison, too, experimented with X-rays, building some of the most practical machines of his era. When President William McKinley was shot at close range at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, Edison rushed to his bedside with an X-ray machine to locate a bullet lodged in stomach. However, he was too late, arriving after McKinley succumbed to bacterial infection. Edison canceled his X-ray experiments in 1903 after one of his researchers died. Clarence Dally had been chronically X-raying his hands for experiments, resulting in an advance stage of cancer. His hands were amputated to stop the spread, but the damage was too great. Tesla's warnings were becoming reality.
Effects
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The modern type of tube used for X-rays is the Coolidge tube, invented in 1913 by William Coolidge. It utilizes thermionic diode valve to create a vacuum and allowed heated current to flow throughout the tube. This revolutionized the design for future experimentation.
In the 1950s, the X-ray microscope was invented and has since been a boon to the study of biological and biochemical research. NASA has adopted the X-ray in use aboard its Chandra Observatory, allowing the agency to record images of stars being absorbed by black holes and plasma buildups on neutron stars. In addition, the U.S. military has applied X-ray technology to create an X-ray laser, a weapon of great potential, but has seen challenges from a technological standpoint.
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