EXPEHIMENTS WITH RONTGEN RAYS. 



[Made by Mr. J. W. Sutton before the Royal Society of Queensland, 

 on Saturday, Auyust 8, 1896.] 



Mr. J. W. Sutton, to wliom is due the honour of having first 

 introduced to Brisbane the wonderful " X " rays, recently dis- 

 covered by Professor Rontgen, gave the first public demonstration 

 in Queensland of the same before a meeting of the Royal Society 

 on Saturday, August 8. Mr. Sutton, since his first demonstra- 

 tion in his own laboratory, about two weeks ago, before a few of 

 the leading medical men in Brisbane, has been experimenting in 

 the direction of preparing for himself a fluorescent screen by 

 which the effects of the " X " rays can be at once seen without 

 the necessity for exposing a photographic plate to the rays, and 

 taking a " radiograph." His efforts have been quite successful. 

 The screens are manufactured and sold for the use of experi- 

 menters with the Rontgen rays, but so far none have been 

 received in Brisbane. After giving a popular sketch of the 

 historical side of his subject, Mr. Sutton directed the attention 

 of his hearers to a black board on which he had a diagram 

 illustrative of the rays of the spectrum. On the right of what 

 was marked the "visible spectrum" there was shown the "infra 

 red" spectrum, and, outside them again, heat rays, while to the 

 left of the visible spectrum there was shown the " ultra violet " 

 spectrum, and, to the left of them, " unmapped " rays. He 

 proceeded to state that photography had revealed the fact that 

 photographically active rays extended a distance of nine or ten 

 times the length of the visual spectrum, and both from the ultra 

 violet and the infra red portion of the spectrum, there emanated 

 a long series of rays which, though quite invisible, possessed 

 chemical energy and heat, and with which it was quite possible 

 to make radiographs through many opaque substances, and it 



