London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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L. s. c. 1. ORACLE 39 4 1 ' k ill? i X E-E f 5 Q - me : E fin ,- N I - if 2 1 if M Editor, GEORGE LAMONT, IV B THE X-RAY By H. S. WISMER, M.D. Radiologist. To submit a short article on the X-Ray one must be content to simply jump from one high peak to another. When Conrad Roentgen first dis- covered this new type of energy he opened up such new wonders in the world of physics that we are only now beginning to realize its far-reaching effects and future potentialities. It is only necessary to recapitulate the apparently disjointed connections be- tween Faraday's electrical researches of a century ago, Daguerre's discovery of photograph, Crookes' low-pressure gas tube, Stokes' work on Huorescence and Roentgen's astute observations on the behaviour of fluorescent screens and photographic plates in the vicinity of a Crookes' tube to grasp ,something of the romance of X-Ray. . Roentgen's discovery came in 1895 and was immediately given to the world. Science at once grasped its significance and medicine was, perhaps, the first of the applied sciences to put it to prac- tical use. Here was an agent to pene- trate solid material. Indeed there was now no such thing as solid material. Matter was now built of infinitely small bricks with great wide inter- stices capable of allowing a ray to easily pass between its bricks For the iirst few years progress was slow but soon acquired momentum, particularly during the World War. . For a comprehension 'of the physics of the X-Ray tube it is necessary to have a working knowledge of the nature of matter as twentieth century physics sees it. Dalton's atomic theory taught the 19th century savants that the atom was the smallest particle to which matter could be subdivided. 20th century physics takes the little hard 19th century pellet and reconstructs as a small solar system with a central sun or proton revolving around which are from one to ninety-two planets or negative electrons. This model of the atom is not exactly correct but serves as a good working theory. An X-Ray tube is composed of a glass bulb exhausted of atmospheric air as far as possible with two terminals, an anode and cathode. f The first tubes used were gas tubes which depended on gas introduced into the tube and the later types are not cathode tubes. The principle in each is the same. When the tube is energized by a high poten- tial current the negative electrons are torn away from the atoms of either the gas in the gas tube or the heated filament in the hot cathode tube at the cathode terminal. These How across the intervening gap between the two terminals and are bombarded against the anode which is specially constructed so as to present a target which is inclined at an angle to the stream of electrons. This electronic stream is known as the cathode ray. It travels at thousands of miles per sec- ond and produces at the point of impact a ray which travels outward in all directions. This is the X-Ray. Its wave lengths are very much shorter than light. It has the same velocity as light, 186,000 miles a second, obeys

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38 L. S. C. I. ORACLE 12 . 'CQ' L TP!-is L'un: Tous les lgrands hommes meurent recemmentf' L'autre: Mais oui, Je ne me porte pas bien moi-meme. Pk Pk Pk Un malade consulte un medecin. ll souffre de bronehite. Le meclecin hoche la tete d'un air entenilu, puis il pres- crit un remede, qui, assure-t-il, aura promptement raison son mal. Vous paraissez avoir une grande ex- perience cle Cette malaclie, remarque le client. Mais oui, repond le medecin, il y a plus cle quinze ans que je souffre moi- meme. Pk Pk Pk' A quelle heure cet individu vous a- t-il attaque? Je ne pourrais pas vous dire, mon- sieur le commissaire. Il a commence par d' abord m'enlever ma montre. Pk Pk Pk Le Pere: Qui vous a donne l'oeil noir? Son Fils: Personne ne me l'a donne! I1 me fallait en combattrelu Le Pere: Il ne faut pas manger autant, Toto, ou on finira par t'ap- peler un petit glouton. Tu sais ce que c'est? p Toto: Le petit gargon d'un gros gloutonf' Pk Pk Pk Mlle. McPherson: Il vous faut a- voir ce livre. Ce fera une moitie de vos Clevoirsl H. Kester: Eh bien! ,Ven acheterai deux! ' Pk Pk Pk Qu'est-ce que tu Veux etre quand tu seras grand jean? Je veux etre soldat. -4 Et tu n'auras pas peur d'etre tue? Par qui? A Par qui? Par l'ennemi naturelle- ment! Eh bien! alors je serai l'ennemi! Pk Pk Pk Le professeur: Est-ce que l'un de vous pourrait me dire quelle reflexion fit Newton quand une pomme lui la tete? tomba sur Un eleve Cvivementb : 'Il dut se dire- Ah! quelle chance que ce ne soit pas une briquef' 'F' 5 Sul' 1 00,145,054 ill? M35 ...Q x:+ api fxivw X EAL..

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40 the law of inverse squares. can be reflected but cannot be refracted. The uses to which X-Rays have been put are many. By far the most out- standing use has been its application to pure science as a means for measur- ing the constitution of matter. From this came the discovery of radium by Madame Curie, the modern concep- tion of the atom with its far-reaching effects in the applied sciences Cradio for instancel, and the tremendous stimulus to astronomical investigation of the physical nature of the universe. In medicine it has been a great aid to the physician in the diagnosis of many obscure diseases and in the treatment of many serious as well as trivial conditions. More recently the X-Ray has been used in the detection of spurious works of art and more recently still it has been used for the detection of flaws in metal castings. Such use in commerce is bound to develop tremendously in the future when one thinks of the many metal parts that break in auto- mobiles and airplanes, due to faults in the manufacture, with disastrous results to life and limb. Rayon from Cotton Most of the rayon manufactured at the present time comes from wood pulp. The cellulose is extracted by a chemical treatment, which dissolves out the fats, resins, and other materials. It is then treated with other chemical agents, chiefly sodium hydroxide, and finally the resulting sticky substance is forced through tiny holes as in a sprinkler. When dried, the fine threads which emerge from these holes closely resemble silk. These are then woven into rayon fabrics. Spruce is the wood chiefly used in producing rayon. However, with the increasing demand and the prospects of an entirely new textile resembling wool from this source, it may soon be necessary to find a substitute for spruce. At the present time, cotton is'pro- duced only with considerable care and expense. It is planted in rows about four feet apart, and subjected to much cultivating. In harvest time the cotton is picked by hand and ginned while the stalks are left in the field. In this new method of produc- L. S. C. I. ORACLE ing rayon the whole plants-both stalks and lint-is utilized. The crop can now be mowed like hay, ginned and baled without picking. This greatly reduces the expense of producing cotton. Then, too, as the plants will be crowded to- gether, they will mature faster than in the old way, and so will produce more lint, relative to the size of the plant. Thus the cellulose yield of the whole plant may be raised to about sixty-live per cent. The new method of sowing cotton will practically elim- inate cultivation, and is expected to produce better and cheaper rayon. V -G. M. L. EDISON AND ELECTRICITY Although there are over twelve hun- dred patents registered in Edison's name, most of his active life was de- voted to inventions of an electrical nature. The most important of these are the incandescent lamp, and the system for the transmission of electric current for producing light, heat and power. Edison himself considered his in- ventions leading to the development of the electric light and power industry to be most important, for, until his time, electric lights were known only in the form of powerful arc lamps to illuminate streets. After more than a year of concentrated effort he succeeded by carbonizing a piece of ordinary thread, in making the first incandescent lamp, which, when placed in a circuit maintained its incandescence for over forty hours. In two months these lamps were perfected to such an extent that a public demonstration was given. Two years later a factory was estab- lished and almost immediately elec- tricity became the most popular means of illumination. Edison went on to improve the dynamos, and the means of determining and distributing the current produced by them. He also perfected sockets, switches and various other appliances to facilitate the use of electricity in the home. E The inscription on the United States Congressional Gold Medal In com- memoration of his achievements in illuminating the path of progress through the development and application of his inventions, expresses the sentiment of a grateful world.-JEAN PHILLIPS.