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In May, 1896, Edison arranged a special exhibition of this detecting device at an electrical show in New York City. The "ghost" pictures proved to be the greatest attraction at the show - long lines of people patiently stood for hours to see them. Many people were awed but the majority thought it must be just a joke. The medical profession quickly realized that this wasn't a laughing matter - it didn't take them long to see this could be one of the most valuable diagnostic aids ever invented. The hand pictures had given them the clue - they could now see things which they could only guess at before. Medical diagnosis would be much more precise in the future. Like many other great scientists, Röntgen opened the door to an entirely new world - the world of radioactivity. This discovery stimulated Henri Becquerel, a Frenchman, to investigate the radiating qualities of different substances and this led to the discovery that the element uranium gives off rays that would go through opaque matter. This in turn affected the research of another person - Madame Curie. We all know the story of radium and the medical research that has followed. |
