Signedunsigned
FunctionThis is one of the earliest x-ray tubes, a replica of the Crookes tube with which Roentgen discovered x-rays. Notice that the cathode is completely flat and is not aligned with the anode, which is inside a side tube. The design of this tube is obviously not optimal for generating x-rays but in the early years people did not know what in the tube exactly produced the rays.
ProvenanceFrom the Harvard Medical School.
Related WorksRobert G. Arns, "The High-Vacuum X-Ray Tube: Technological Change in Social Context," Technology and Culture 38 (1997): 852-890.