Roentgen Rays and Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode. — John Shaqi
Roentgen Rays and Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode.Thompson, Edward P. (Edward Pruden)
History
Roentgen Rays and Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode.
Thompson, Edward P. (Edward Pruden)
X-rays
58. SHADOW CAST WITHIN THE DISCHARGE TUBE. This is illustrated in Fig.
11, p. 17, where there is a negative polar disk at the small end of the
egg shaped tube, and a cross near the large end, the same forming the
positive pole. The cross is made of aluminum. There was a novel action,
however, discovered in addition to the mere casting of a shadow. The
glass which had become phosphorescent except within the shadow, became
after a while, less phosphorescent. Its property to phosphoresce became
less as proved by removing the cross, which was arranged to fall down
upon tipping the bulb. Immediately, the part which was within the shadow
became brighter than the rest of the glass, thereby reversing the
appearances, by making a luminous picture of the cross upon only
partially phosphorescent glass. A remarkable feature is that the glass
never recovered its first exhibited power of phosphorescence, neither
did this power entirely become nothing, however many times the tube was
employed. Was the deposit of metal from the cathode the cause?
58_a_. MECHANICAL MOTION PRODUCED BY RADIATIONS FROM THE NEGATIVE POLE.
It occured to Crookes that the radiations from the cathode might perhaps
cause a wheel to turn around. He therefore had a minute wheel made by
Mr. Gimingham, like an undershot water wheel, and its axle rested on two
rails of glass, so that it might roll along from one end of the tube to
the other. The vanes were exactly opposite to the plane surface of the
cathode. The molecular stream or radiations, or whatever they may be,
possibly vibrations, from the cathode, were so powerful mechanically
that the wheel was caused to run up hill, the tube being inclined very
slightly. On the principle that action and reaction are equal, he built
another device in which the negative electrode was movable, and he
observed that when the current was on, the negative electrode moved
slightly. Upon these principles he built the well-known Crookes
radiometer in which the vanes rotated by reaction of the radiations. The
vanes in this form of radiometer were made of aluminum, and a cup of
hard steel served as the bearing, Fig. 12, p. 17. One side of each disk
was coated with a thin scale of mica. The aluminum disks formed the
cathode, while the anode was located at the top. The operation consisted
in connecting the terminals as stated, so that the vanes were the
negative poles and it was observed that the little wheel rotated. The
vacuum was not as high as that for obtaining phosphorescence. With a low
vacuum, an envelope of violet light existed near the surface of the
aluminum vanes. Effects were carefully studied by maintaining connection
with the pump. At the pressure of .5 mm. there was a dark cylinder
opposite the aluminum extending to the glass, and this was the pressure
at which the vanes began to rotate. The dark spaces opposite each vane
became larger and larger in width, until they appeared to be opposed or
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