Photographing the Unseen 



knowledge that has come at the close of the nine- 

 teenth century from the modest little laboratory 

 in the Pleicher Ring at Wiirzburg. 



The Physical Institute, Professor Ront gen's 

 particular domain, is a modest building of two 

 stories and basement, the upper story constitut- 

 ing his private residence, and the remainder of 

 the building being given over to lecture rooms, 

 laboratories, and their attendant offices. At the 

 door I was met by an old serving-man of the 

 idolatrous order, whose pain was apparent when 

 I asked for "Professor" Rontgen, and he gently 

 corrected me with "Herr Doctor Rontgen." 

 As it was evident, however, that we referred to 

 the same person, he conducted me along a wide, 

 bare hall, running the length of the building, 

 with blackboards and charts on the walls. At 

 the end he showed me into a small room on the 

 right. This contained a large table desk, and a 

 small table by the window, covered by photo- 

 graphs, while the walls held rows of shelves 

 laden with laboratory and other records. An open 

 door led into a somewhat larger room, perhaps 

 twenty feet by fifteen, and I found myself gazing 

 into a laboratory which was the scene of the dis- 

 covery a laboratory which, though in all ways 

 modest, is destined to be enduringly historical. 



There was a wide table shelf running along 

 the farther side, in front of the two windows, 

 which were high, and gave plenty of light. In 

 the centre was a stove; on the left, a small cabinet 

 whose shelves held the small objects which the 

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