Chapter XVII: My X-Ray Experiences

It was no surprise to us that we could produce what man calls X-rays, but we were very much surprised at the use to which man put these splashes which we made in the aether. A limited number of us had been producing X-rays on our own account for many ages, but I shall tell you of that in a later chapter, when you will hear how we made the world talk.

I must tell you of my own experiences in connection with these X-rays, which I hear some men describe also as _Roentgen rays_. I found myself once more within a large vacuum tube, and as soon as I felt a crowd of my fellows pushing me forward, I was quite prepared to be shot across the tube, as on previous occasions. Personally, I was not prepared for what was to come. Just as we reached the centre of the tube we collided with a metal plate or target. It was no joke to be pulled up so suddenly when travelling at a terrific speed. I noticed at the time that our very sudden stoppage had a peculiar effect upon the aether. Of course we never bothered about a name for this disturbance; it is man who requires to have names for everything. He was quite right to call this aether disturbance "X-rays," for even now he does not know the real nature of these. I have heard him describe them as thin pulses in the aether, but there is something more.

I may as well confess that although we observed this aether disturbance arising from our sudden stoppage, we paid little attention to it, until it became apparent that man was continuing to produce these rays for some special purpose. He had discovered that we could shoot these rays right through many solid substances which were not transparent to light. But I have not told you how man came to know that we could produce these penetrating rays.

On one occasion we were sending out these rays, which, by the way, do not cause any sensation in man's visionary apparatus. The room was in darkness. Some of the invisible rays fell upon a collection of small chemical crystals which were fixed on the surface of a screen. Our fellow-electrons, who were attached to the atoms of the crystals, were bestirred into action. They could not reflect the X-rays, but they set up regular trains of waves in the aether, some of which came within the range that affects man's vision. Man knew that this chemical screen could not produce light on its own account, and it became apparent that the vacuum tube must be sending some aether waves towards the chemical screen.

As the electrons on the screen produced an aether disturbance different from that which fell upon it, man called this a _fluorescent screen_.

At first we took merely a passing interest in the experiments which man made with these X-rays of ours, for it seemed to us as though man thought them only good enough for amusing his friends. Indeed, we paid little heed to what he was doing, until we observed that the rays were being used by surgeons. We were interested at once, for here we could serve man.

My first experience in this connection was quite interesting. A young girl had got a needle into her hand while she was playing about, and the surgeons were at a loss to know where the needle had lodged. We lost no time in producing X-rays which could penetrate the flesh of the hand, and reach the fluorescent screen on the other side. The bones of the hand blocked the way of our rays, but not so completely as the needle did. Hence we produced upon the screen a faint shadow of the flesh of the hand, a much deeper image of the bones, and a black shadow of the needle. This enabled the surgeon to see where the needle was hiding.

Sometimes we were called upon to produce rays for detecting bullets in the flesh, or for showing the nature of a fractured bone. We were never surprised to find that our call was to detect a coin in the throat of a child, but in this connection a big surprise awaited some of us. I was not one of the party, but I have the information from some fellow-electrons.

The upper photograph shows the X-ray apparatus in use. The operator is examining the bones of the lady's hand, which she places between the X-ray tube and the fluorescent screen. The rays pass through the flesh, but are obstructed by the bones, the rings, and the bangle, so that a shadowgraph or image is formed upon the screen, which becomes luminous where the rays succeed in reaching it. The actual examination is made in a dark room. Owing to the way X-ray photos are taken (by contact) the image is reversed in a photograph, so that a left looks like a right hand.]

A party of electrons were present within an X-ray tube at a large hospital, when they were called upon to produce rays for examining the throat of a little girl. They had become so used to this call that they did not doubt there would be a coin in the child's throat. However, they lost no time in producing the penetrating rays, and you can imagine their surprise when they produced the image of a toy bicycle upon the screen. It seemed ridiculous that such a toy could have entered a child's throat.

When we had shown the surgeons exactly where the toy was, they set to work to remove it. The electrons heard later that the operation was successful in every way. Every one was interested, and we were proud. I do not wish to appear boastful, but I wonder how many operations owe their success to these rays which we produce for man.

It was natural that man should try if these searching rays could affect the chemicals upon a photographic plate, and we soon proved that they could. It made no difference to us whether man kept the plate sealed up in its light-proof envelope, or whether he placed the plate within a wooden box. These protecting covers offered no barrier to our rays. We produced shadowgraphs of any objects placed between our tube and the photographic plate.

Two of my early experiences may be of interest to you. The first of these seemed to me a rather tame affair. Our X-ray tube appeared to be arranged for the amusement of fashionable folk. One grand lady placed her hand behind the fluorescent screen, whereupon we produced an image of the bones of her hand and very dark images of all the many rings upon her fingers. Several of the rings had enormous diamonds, but it was after she had gone away that I overheard two gentlemen speaking about the rings. One asked the other if he had observed the beautiful diamonds, whereupon the other roared with laughter. It seems that we proved them to be imitation diamonds, for our rays could not penetrate them, whereas they have no difficulty in passing through real diamonds. We therefore produced black shadows of the imitation diamonds. Little did the grand lady know how we had exposed her sham jewels.

My second experience was a very curious one. I learned that our tube was being carried to some distance. After a while we were placed beside a peculiar-looking object, which the men referred to as the "mummy." One of the men suggested that they should photograph its feet, but before doing so they darkened the room and set us to work upon the fluorescent screen. The owner of the mummy got rather nervous as to what we might disclose, and as the force urging us into action was somewhat erratic at first, we produced only a very indistinct image. We were greatly amused at the nervous excitement of the owner; he seemed to think our verdict was that there were no bones. However, the man with the apparatus soon got things into better condition, and this enabled us to produce X-rays satisfactorily. The result was that they secured some excellent photographs of the hidden bones of the mummy.

Before telling you how we made the world talk, I should like to give you a clear idea of our relationship to the atoms of matter.

CHAPTER XVIII

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE ATOMS

_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER EIGHTEEN_

We have no doubt that an atom of matter is a miniature solar
system of revolving electrons.

These electrons, being negative particles of electricity, would
repel each other just as any two similarly electrified bodies
do.

There must therefore be some equivalent of positive electricity,
but whether this exists in the form of a sphere or in separate
particles we have no definite knowledge.

One atom differs from another in the number of electrons which
go to make up the atom.

The electron explains how the atoms of matter are united to one
another, how different compound substances are formed, and how
chemical changes take place.