KAYS. 



RorMAXiA. 





ory has been held by few. hut it is maintained by 

 Nikola Tesla, who re-ards iii- own experiments aa 



upholding it. It can not lie said that any one the- 

 ory i- Vet uyllerally accepted by M-ielltific men, but 



.(y thai whieli reganU tin 1 waves as ultra-vio- 

 let li_ general acceptance. The 

 Mons to it are many, and depend chiefly on the 

 differences oi behavior between the Rontgen riys 

 and hitherto observed radiant energy, even that 

 which is invisible. The rays are reflected with dif- 

 ficulty, they are not refracted at all, and they can 

 not be polarized. It was for some time thought that 

 they could not be caused to interfere the crucial 

 f a vibratory phenomenon but Caltnette and 

 Iluillier ("Electrical Engineering," July 00) an- 

 nounce that they have obtained evidence of diffrac- 

 tion and interference. These results are confirmed 

 by those of Dr. Fomm. who has measured the wave 

 lengths of the rays bv interference methods, and finds 

 it 0-000014 millimetre, about & of the smallest wave 

 of ultra-violet light yet recorded. Rowland had 

 already announced his belief ("Electrical World," 

 April 05) that it did not exceed n-noiKJ? millimetre, 

 and Sagnac had announced that it was not greater 

 than 0-0004. It is thought by many experimenters 

 that the rays are nonhomogeneous. and that they 

 are a mixture of several different kinds of rays, 

 and this evidently complicates the matter, making 

 any attempt at measuring their wave length espe- 

 cially difficult. 



Lodge ("Electrician," London, July 1?) thinks 

 that the rays may lie due to electrical vibration of 

 the atom, while ordinary light is due to its mechan- 

 ical vibrations. The absence of refraction may be 

 explained by supposing the wave length to be very 

 small compared to the molecular structure of the 

 transmitting substances. The absence of polari/a- 

 tion points to transverse vibrations, but it is diffi- 

 cult to show why these should be limited to very 

 short waves. These difficulties have made some 

 take refuge with Mr. Tesla in a theory of emitted 

 particles "in some primary state "of matter, but 

 this has peculiar difficulties of its own, and the 

 question must still be regarded as unsettled. 



It is believed by T. ('. Porter ( Nature " : see also 

 "Electrical World." Dec. 5) that he has demon- 

 strated the lack of homogeneity of the rays by pro- 

 ducing three modifications of them, which he calls, 

 respectively, X,. X 3 , X 3 rays. The first readily pene- 

 trate flesh, but bone is opaque to them; the second 

 penetrate wood, but not flesh : and the third pene- 

 trate bone and flesh with almost equal ease. These 

 three stages may be obtained by varying the fre- 

 quency of oscillation by inserting a variable resist- 

 ance in the discharge circuit. The Tesla coil, with 

 its very high frequency, thus furnishes rays with a 

 great penetrative power. C. L. Leonard (ibid.) has 

 obtained similar results, separating what he regards 

 as the true Rontgen rays from the outside cathode 

 rays discovered by Lenarcl a separation that he 

 believes to be essential for obtaining the best X-ray 

 effects. 



Light may be thrown on the subject by the dis- 

 covery of Becquerel and others (see PHYSIC'S, under 

 Light) of phosphorescent radiations that are similar 

 to X rays in many respects, including their ability 

 to traverse some substances that are opaque to ordi- 

 nary light. 



See " Rt'intgen Rays and Phenomena of the 

 Anode and Cathode." by Edward P. Thompson 

 (New York. 1806): "Something about X Ra\ - 

 Everybody." by E. Tivvert (Lynn, Mass.. 1896); 

 " What is Electricity .' " by John Trowbridge 

 York. lN!t<;: and "The X'Ray. or Photography of 

 the Invisible and its Value in Surgery," by Dr. 

 W. J. Morton and E. W. Hammer (New York, 

 1896). 



ROOIAMA, a monarchy in ea-tern Eu< 

 The legislative power i> rested in a Si min- 



ing 120 members, elected for eight years by prop- 

 erty-holders divided into two classes, and a'Chain- 

 ber of Deputies, numbering IN:; membi 

 for four years by the people, divided into thn < 

 toral The reigning sovereign is Carol I, a 



prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who was < 

 ed Domn of Roumania on April 20, 1*06. and pro- 

 claimed King on March 26, 1881. The Cabinet in 

 the beginning of IN!)(> was made up as fol: 

 President of the Council and Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs, Demeter Sturdza; Minister of .! 

 Statesco; Minister of Instruction and Worship. P. 

 Poni; Minister of War. (ien. C. Budisteano; Min- 

 ister of Finance. G. C. Cantacuzeno : Minister of 

 Agriculture, Industry. Commerce, and Domaii 

 D. Pallade ; Minister of Public Works, C. J. Stoi- 

 cesco. 



Area and Population. The area of the king- 

 dom is 48,307 square miles. The population is esti- 

 mated to be 5,038,842. The number of marriages 

 in 1895 was 43237; of births, 238,920; of deaths, 

 156.791; excess of births. NO. 12!'. The population 

 of Bucharest, the capital, in 1892 was 196.372. 



Finances. The revenue for the financial year 

 1895 was 196.620.405 lei, or francs, and the expen- 

 diture 209.985,905 lei. The budget for 1896-'97 

 makes the revenue 209.928.000 lei, of which direct 

 taxes produce 32,710,000 lei, indirect taxes 50.350,- 

 000 lei, state monopolies 48.350,000 lei, domains 

 35,000,000 lei. public works 15,300,000 lei. and the 

 rest comes from the other departments and miscel- 

 laneous sources. The total expenditures are esti- 

 mated likewise at 209,928.000 lei. of which 74.477.- 

 1:57 lei are required for the public debt, 42,409,- 

 100 lei for the army. 06.500,111 lei for public in- 

 struction, 04.493.049 lei for financial administra- 

 tion. 18,474,567 lei for the interior, 6.007.084 lei 

 for the domains, 5.630,376 lei for public works, 

 6.904,556 lei for justice, 1,601.741 lei for foreign 

 affairs. 66,500 lei for the Council of Ministers, and 

 1,301,705 lei as a fund for supplementary credits 

 and extraordinary expenses. 



The public debt on April 1. 1896. amounted to 

 1.164,531,036 lei. The charge for 1897 is uN.'.i06.902 

 lei. A new loan of 90,000,000 lei was raised in 

 Germany in April. 1896, on the same terms as the 

 4-per-cent. loan of 1894, for the construction of rail- 

 roads and other public works. 



Commerce. The importations in 1895 amounted 

 to 304. 574.. 117 lei, and exportations to 265.04*.- 

 411 lei. The exports of cereals were 194,900.000 

 lei : of fruits and vegetables, 34,500,000 lei ; of ani- 

 mals and animal food products, 10.700.000 lei. 



The commerce was divided between the different 

 foreign nations as follows: 



Total 



304.574.000 



265.048,000 



During 1895 the number of vessels entered at the 

 Roumanian port.- on the Danube was 32,421, of 

 8,917.219 tons, and the number cleared was 30.01!). 

 of 8,978,219 tons. The merchant marine in 1896 

 comprised 28 steamers, of 1,054 tons, and 271 sail- 

 ing vessels, of 00,004 tons. 



