Re: Wilhelm Roentgen

[jrcamero@facstaff.wisc.edu (John Cameron)]

The problems of taking x-rays in the old days were not as clear cut as they
appear from our modern view of x-ray imaging. In March of 1993 I did a 77
minutes video interview with Dr. Paul Hodges, one of the pioneer
radiologists.  He was then 100 years old! He first took x-rays in 1910 in
his uncle's private hospital in Ashland Wisconsin. He was the chair of
radiology at U of Chicago from 1928 to 1958! One of his proteges was Dr.
Russell Morgan. Copies of the video interview are available from me for the
cost of copying and mailing it. Dr. Hodges' twin sister was living in the
same nursing home! He talked about the early problems with taking x-rays
before grids were invented. They originally thought the poor images through
thick body parts was due to off-focus radiation from their gas tubes!
Compton's contributions were far in the future.
        I have done similar interviews with Prof. Don Kerst, inventor of
the Betatron and Dr. Juan del Regato who received his therapy training at
the Curie Institute in Paris when Madame Curie was still the director.
Those interested in therapy history might like to see the 4 hour video
interview I did with Dr. Frank Ellis in Oxford who was doiing brachytherapy
in 1931! Hodges, del Regator and Ellis all indicate that the risk from
radiation is not as great as many people believe. Frank Ellis thinks his
life time whole body dose is abou 500 rads. The dose to his finger tips on
the right hand he estimates at over 15,000 rads. He does have an occasional
basal cell growht nipped off his right index finger. 

>Just a reminder - it was 100 years ago today that Wilhelm Roentgen
>discovered x-rays.
>
>I'd be interested in hearing any stories or anecdotes about the 'olden
>days'.  I find that such information helps to animate a subject that many
>non-physics-types tend to otherwise find too dry to be of interest.
>
>thanks,
>
>Alan Enns
>aenns@unixg.ubc.ca
John R. Cameron 2678 SW 14th Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608-2050 
phone: 904/371-9865; fax 904/371-9866  e-mail: jrcamero@facstaff.wisc.edu