We often take the ability to see inside the human body for granted, and why wouldn’t we?
About the Author
Greg Voakes writes for TECHi about AI and technology and macro policy and the economy. Their TECHi archive includes 20 published pieces from 2011-2013, with coverage grounded in the topics, sources, and recurring themes in their bylines. Representative bylines include "6 ways people are making money from home in 2013", "5 inexpensive hobbies that pay for themselves", "8 must-have tools for traveling freelancers".
We often take the ability to see inside the human body for granted, and why wouldn’t we? X-ray technology is well over a century old. But imagine you live in a time where science isn’t really sure what an atom is and the discovery of electrons is merely a glimmer in some frisky physicists’ eyes, and you begin to appreciate just how insanely intelligent some of these scientists had to be to harness and comprehensively describe the X-ray in its early days. Oh and there was also the fact that they completely revolutionized modern medicine with a discovery matched only by the discovery of antibiotics almost 30 years later.
John Ambrose Fleming Despite the somewhat unique last name, John Ambrose Fleming has no relation to Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. J.A. Fleming was, however, responsible for inventing the vacuum tube. That may not sound that impressive, until you realize that the vacuum tube is the granddaddy of…well pretty much every electronic device from modern X-ray machines, to the silicon chips in the computer you’re reading this on. Before Fleming (and later, William Coolidge), X-rays were produced using Crookes tubes. To simplify the science, Crookes tubes generated X-rays by focusing a stream of electrons from a cathode to an anode that was angled to send the high-energy x-rays out of the side of the tube. Despite how awesome it would be if they did, the electrons couldn’t travel through a perfect vacuum, so a small amount of residual air was left in the tube. The problem that resulted was that this air would slowly be absorbed by the glass in the tube, leading to a gradual lessening of the tube’s effectiveness, as well as a blackening of the glass which even further reduced its efficacy. Fleming came along and cranked the cathode up to 11 by replacing it with a heated filament, which generated enough “oomph” to allow the tube to operate in a more complete vacuum, extending its life and effectiveness. If you’ve ever been to the dentist’s and they break out a machine that looks like it was built in the 40s and will give you cancer just by looking at it, it’s thanks to Fleming’s robust design.
About the Author
Greg Voakes writes for TECHi about AI and technology and macro policy and the economy. Their TECHi archive includes 20 published pieces from 2011-2013, with coverage grounded in the topics, sources, and recurring themes in their bylines. Representative bylines include "6 ways people are making money from home in 2013", "5 inexpensive hobbies that pay for themselves", "8 must-have tools for traveling freelancers".
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