Discoveries and Inventions of the Nineteenth Century

by a pin-hole. Again, glass lenses could not be used, because this substance, so transparent to light, is particularly opaque to the X rays, and would in a great degree intercept them, while lenses of ebonite and of aluminium, which were tried, were inoperative on account of the irrefrangibility of the rays. As to the nature of the rays themselves, Dr. Roentgen rejects the notion of their being “ultra-violet” rays, which was suggested by some. The meaning of this term is seen when it is understood that a great distance beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum there are radiations, revealed by their photographic impressions, so that the whole spectrum is really some eight times as long as the visible part. In consequence of these ultra-violet rays acting on the photographic plate, it is possible, as has long been known, to take a photograph in the dark. The eye is quite insensible to the X rays also, and although these, as we have seen, readily pass through the bodily tissues, it may be placed quite near the discharge tube, the latter being enveloped in black paper, without causing any sensation. That the new rays are in some way allied to light is the opinion held by Dr. Roentgen, and he is inclined to consider them as due to longitudinal vibrations in the ether; that is, instead of the transverse waves to which light is attributed, these resemble the waves of sound, in so far that they move in the direction of propagation. This would account for the absence of any distinct refraction, or polarisation, which seems to characterise the X rays. Their connection with certain electric Maxwell-Hertz waves (see p. 541) is more problematical, as the mathematical formulæ for these admit only transverse oscillation. But on the assumption of certain conditions, due to the action of electricity, etc., on highly rarefied air, the possible existence of longitudinal vibrations has been deduced by admitting a certain variation in some of the factors of the Maxwell formulæ. Other suggestions have been advanced in order to make the observed facts concerning the X rays fit into established theories, but so far these attempts have been unsuccessful. It would seem as if our present conceptions of light, electricity, the ether and matter, will have to be profoundly modified and enlarged in order to bring these and other recently discovered phenomena within their scope. Since the publication of Dr. Roentgen’s paper, his results have received confirmation in every quarter, 450and many new observations have been added, some of which seem to tend not so much to elucidate the phenomena, as to prove them even more complicated than was at first supposed. Such was the announcement in June, 1896, of the discovery of several varieties of X rays. Fig. 232c.—Metal Objects taken through Calico and Sheet of Aluminium. In the meantime, various modifications have been made in the forms of the tubes and electrodes, and divers arrangements have been used for the exciting electrical apparatus. Thus it has been found that the X rays are given off from platinum more copiously than from glass, aluminium, or any other substance, and by using a tube closed by a “platinum window,” on which the cathode rays impinge, Mr. Gifford has been able to reduce the time of exposure for obtaining a skiagraph of the bones on the hand to half a minute, whereas twenty times that period was formerly required. Another form of tube is advertised by Brady & Martin of Newcastle, with which, in conjunction with a new screen, a coil giving a 5–inch spark will, it is stated, yield a good skiagraph of the hand in two seconds, which appears to be the shortest time yet attained. Another firm of tube-makers, Newton & Co., London, state that their special form of tube, excited by a coil giving a 6–inch spark, and used with their fluorescent screen, “will work right through the human body, showing the heart, liver, spine, ribs, the movements of the heart and of the 451diaphragm, etc.” It has recently been observed that the best results are obtained when there is a certain, but as yet undefined, relation between the degree of rarefaction of the residual gas in the tube, and the intensity or frequency of the electric discharges, and that these should be accommodated to the work required. Thus, for example, if a skiagraph of the hand be attempted with an apparatus in which these factors are carried to too high a degree, the resulting X rays will pass through the bones almost as freely as through the surrounding tissues, and their shadows will therefore not appear. If, on the other hand, the contrary conditions hold, an incomplete or maybe no result will be found. This seems to explain the failures that have sometimes occurred when tubes of apparently identical construction have been used in the hands of the same, or of different, observers. Perhaps more depends also on the time of exposure. For instance, if a short exposure be given in the case of the hand, the photograph will be merely a silhouette of that member; with a little longer exposure, this will show the nails; with still longer time, the shadow of the fleshy parts begins to grow faint and the skeleton to appear. With yet more prolonged exposure only the bones will show, in their various degrees of opacity, and the shadows of these will gradually disappear as the time of exposure is increased, until at length the image will be entirely effaced. The considerable differences as to distinctness of the various tissues, which are exhibited by the published prints of hand shadows, are thus explicable. Fig. 232d.—A Skiagraph of Layers of Various Substances. 452 Fig. 233.—Portrait of Professor Helmholtz. SIGHT. The investigations of modern science have borne rich fruit, not only by vastly extending our knowledge of the universe of things around us, but also making us acquainted with the mode in which certain agents act upon our bodily organs, and by revealing, up to a certain point, what may be termed the mechanism of that most wonderful thing—the human mind—or, at least, that part which is immediately concerned in the perceptions of an external world. Of all the physical influences which affect the human mind, those due to light are the most powerful and the most agreeable. One of the most ancient of philosophers says, in the simple words which are appropriate to the expression of an undeniable truth, “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.” The impression produced by light alone is a source of pleasure—a cheering influence of the highest order; and there is a special character in the pleasing effects of light, from the circumstance that they do not exhaust the sense so quickly as do even pleasurable impressions on other organs—such as sweet tastes, fragrant odours, or agreeable sounds. Sight is not liable to that satiety which soon overtakes the enjoyment of sensations arising 453from the other senses; it possesses, therefore, a refinement of quality of which the rest are devoid. Sight converses with its objects at a greater distance than does any other sense, and it furnishes our minds with a greater variety of ideas. Indeed, our mental imagery is most largely made up of reminiscences of visual impressions; for when the idea of anything is brought up in our minds by a word, for example, there arises, in most cases, a more or less vivid presentation of some visible appearance. Our visual impressions are also longer retained in memory or idea than any other class of sensations. The nature of the impressions we receive through the eye is extremely varied; for we thus perceive not only the difference between light and darkness, but in the sensations of colour we have quite another class of effects, while the lustre and sparkle of polished and brilliant objects add new elements of beauty and variety. We find examples of the latter qualities in the verdant sheen of the smooth leaf, in the splendid reflections of burnished gold, in the bright radiance of glittering gems, and “in gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls.” The eye is also the organ which conveys to our minds the impressions of visible motion, with all those pleasures of exciting spectacle which enter so largely into our enjoyment of life. It likewise discriminates the forms, sizes, and distances of objects; but by a process long misunderstood, and dependent upon a set of perceptions which, although precisely those whence we derive our most fundamental notions of the objects around us, have been completely overlooked in that time-honoured enumeration of the senses which recognizes only five. If such be the extent to which our minds are dependent upon the wonderful apparatus of the eye, it may easily be imagined what must be the comparative narrowness of mental development in those who have never enjoyed this precious sense, and the feeling of deprivation in those, who, having enjoyed it, have unfortunately lost it. Well may our sublime poet despairingly ask— “Since light so necessary is to life, And almost life itself—if it be true That light is in the soul— The all in every part: why was the sight To such a tender ball as the eye confined, So obvious and so easy to be quenched?” —for he himself, in his own person, experienced this deprivation, and he thus touchingly, in his great work, laments his loss: “Thus with the year Seasons return; but not to me returns Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer’s rose, Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; But cloud instead, and ever-during dark Surround me; from the cheerful ways of men Cut off; and for the book of knowledge fair Presented with a universal blank Of Nature’s works—to me expunged and rased, And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.” An organ which is the instrument of so many nice discriminations as is the eye must, of course, present the most delicate adjustment in its parts. So much has in recent times been learnt of the nature of its mechanism; of the relation between the impressions made upon it and the judgments formed by the mind therefrom; of the illusions which its very structure produces; of the defects to which it is liable; and of its wonderfully 454refined physiological elements—that a branch of science sufficiently extensive to require a large part of a studious lifetime for its complete mastery has grown up under the hands of modern physiologists, physicists, and psychologists. To some of the results of their labour we would invite the reader’s attention; and in order to render the account of them intelligible, we must, to a certain extent, describe “things new and old.” THE EYE. Fig. 234.—Vertical Section of the Eye. The form of the human eye and the general arrangement of its parts may be understood by referring to Fig. 234, which is a section of the eyeball. It has a form nearly globular, and is covered on the outside by a tough firm case, A, named the sclerotic coat, which is, for the most part, white and opaque. This covering it is which forms what is commonly termed the “white of the eye;” but in the front part of the eyeball it loses its 455opacity, and merges into a transparent substance, termed the cornea, B. The cornea has a greater convexity than the rest of the exterior of the eyeball, so that it causes the front part of the eye to have a somewhat greater projection than would result from its general globular form. This sclerotic coat—with its continuation, the cornea—serves to support and protect the more delicate parts within, and is itself kept in shape by the humours, which fill the whole of the interior. The greater space is occupied by the vitreous humour, C; but the space immediately behind the