SCIENCE OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20306, 13 July 1929, Page 27 (Supplement)

SCIENCE OF THE DAY.

NEW USES FOR X-RAYS. Recent discoveries made with the aid of X-rays are among the most important advances of science. Tlio value of these rays is no longer confined to the diagnosis of ills to which tho human frame is heir. Their applications aro so numerous and so diverse that the ordinary man in tho street rarely escapes their indirect inlluonce, writes Mr. C. Hyalt-Woolf, in the Daily Express. The coal with which a man lights his domestic fire is subjected to X-ray examination to detect slato and ash. The lyres of his car have been perfected by means of the knowledge obtained by Xray examination, which reveals the adhesion of rubber. His .efficiency at golf is aided by tho perfect symmetry of his golf-ball core, an effect enhanced by Xray analysis. If his shoes pinch lie may havo a pair fitted more comfortably with tho aid of a shadowgraph. Whenever tho safety of a person's life depends 0:. the soundness of metal castings he has cause to thank Rout gen, who discovered these rays; hidden faults arc revealed in such castings, and in one science laboratory the experts were able to predict, exactly where a casting would fail after they had subjected it to examination under X-rays. Perhaps tho most important application of X-rays from tho point of view of ft scientist is the way in which the structural secrets of infinitesimal bodies aro revealed. This work is now boing systematically undertaken in numerous laboratories all over tho world, and already it has revealed tho exec' manner.in which tho fundamental units of all tho common metals and alloys art arranged in definite patterns. A new process recently developed in Germany provides means by which cinematograph films can bo made of objects that are illumirtated by Rontgen rays, which normally cannot bo focussed. Special screens convart tho invisible rays into light rays, which aro then focussed and pfiotograpned in tho ordinary way on a film. FISH AND FEELINGS. Do fish suffer when caught on a hook? A German judge has decreed that fish havo no feelings and cannot suffer pain. Another authority declares that fish undoubtedly havo a sense of touch, and, therefore, a senso of feeling, although anglers arc of the opinion that they do not sul'for pain. Fish are cold-blooded, which is probably tho reason why their