Making the Invisible Visible Podcast By cover art

Making the Invisible Visible

Making the Invisible Visible

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In a previous EarthDate, we told you about the accidental discovery of X-rays in the late 1800s. Scientists around the world began to experiment with them. Thinking them no more harmful than visible light, they did so without protection… sometimes with disastrous results. Early researchers would place the emitter in the center of the room, hold up their hands, and—using special lenses to examine their bones—looking directly into the beam. One of Edison’s scientists absorbed enough X-rays to develop severe skin cancer, which killed him. Non-scientists around the world went to demonstrations and submitted themselves to high doses. In the 1930’s, shoe stores used X-rays to fit their customers’ feet, a practice that endured, remarkably, till 1950. By then, X-rays were more completely understood, both for their incredible potential and their potential danger. Since then, their medical use has safely expanded to include sophisticated 3D imaging and highly targeted beams to destroy cancer cells. Beyond airport scanners, X-rays are now used to examine concrete structures for defects, to authenticate rare paintings, and to study the atomic structure of mineral crystals. NASA used similar technology on its rovers to analyze Martian soil and gathers X-ray data from space using orbiting telescopes. Revealing the inner secrets of celestial bodies and our own, this accidental discovery continues to make the invisible visible.
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