Two great inventions of 20th century

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000

Students write about how the X-ray machine and electric light enhance the quality of life.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of essays that will run throughout the year bystudents in the Junior Journalist Club. These seventh-graders wrote about great inventions of the 20th century. The Junior Journalist Club is a partnership between the Citrus Times and the Citrus County School Board to encourage writing.

When you hear about an X-ray machine, what do you think about? What a doctor uses to see if you have a broken bone or cancer? What a dentist uses to see if you have a cavity or the shape of your roots? These answers are true, but it goes beyond that.

Egyptians called the eye the window to the soul. Scientists call the X-ray machine the window into the human body.

When Wilhem Konrad Roentgen invented the X-ray machine, little did he know that he would revolutionize the way Americans live their lives. The discovery of X-rays was one of the most important events in modern physics. Within a very short time, X-rays have become invaluable in scientific detection, dental and medical research.

In science, X-rays have a wide variety of uses. They can reveal hidden features in paintings. Airports use X-ray machines for security purposes and so do some courthouses. If you have every flown in a plane, you know your bags are checked by security to see if you are carrying drugs or weapons that could harm you or someone else. Lots of people have been caught carrying illegal items by X-ray machine detection.

X-rays are also used for testing materials. The way in which the rays are scattered permits the "fingerprinting" of chemicals. This makes it possible for scientists to measure the amount of ethyl in gasoline or to analyze the pigments in oil paintings, in some cases permitting the identification of the painter.

X-ray machines are very helpful in dentistry. I am sure almost everyone has gone to the dentist to have a check up. It it wasn't for an X-ray machine, cavities couldn't be detected early. X-rays of teeth also are needed to see under the gums for bone loss, infections, root canals and extractions. Orthodontists can take an X-ray and in minutes know where your permanent teeth are developing or if they are missing. It will even show where your wisdom teeth are located.

X-ray machines have many important medical uses. By using X-rays, doctors are able to see outlines of broken bones. When I was 4 years old, I fell out of my bed and broke my elbow. No one would have ever known it was broken if it weren't for the X-ray machine. It showed the shadow pattern of the bones so any broken bones could be detected.

The doctor was than able to cast it so it could heal. I am one of many people who needed an X-ray because of a broken bone. If it weren't for the X-ray machine, doctors couldn't tell if bones are broken or if an operation is necessary.

Doctors also use X-ray machines to see if we have any internal diseases. In some cases they observe tuberculosis, pneumonia, gallstones and even cancer. My papa faithfully goes for his yearly checkup. During one visit, an X-ray revealed that he had cancer on his right lung. Because it was caught in its early stages, the doctors were able to remove the top portion of my papa's lung. That X-ray and the fact that he went for yearly check-ups saved my papa's life.

With the wide use of X-rays in medical, dental, and scientific detection, I feel that Wilhelmn Konrad Roentgen's discovery is the greatest invention of all time.

Caitlin Wilcox, Crystal River Middle School

Be thankful for electric light to brighten our world

During the past millennium many inventions have become a part of our lives. Some of these inventions are the radio, television and automobile. Although all of the aforementioned are important, electric lighting would be the hardest to live without.

Without electric light, our world would be vastly different. Many of the activities which we now participate in at night would not be possible. For example, we would have to read and write by candlelight, we would not be able to drive our cars at night and many athletic and other events could not be held because of darkness.

As indicated above, light is a necessity in our day and age. Not only do we see with it, we also receive heat from it. People use electric lights to keep plants warm on a cold, winter night and they are used in incubators to hatch eggs.

Electrical lighting is extremely important. Instead of candles or fires, we use electrical energy to brighten the world. This saves time and other resources. We just flip a switch and, bingo, there's light.

Thanks to Thomas Edison we now have electric light. He thought that if he could get wires, filaments and other such conductors to produce energy through electricity then we would have light.

Eventually, he invented the light bulb. This took years to discover and lots of dedication, so why do we just pass it off as nothing and think oh -- light bulbs -- big deal.

Could one imagine life without electric light? Sometime ago people had to do just that. Their houses were lit with candles and fires. Even with 20 candles they could not see as well as we can today. In addition there would be no television or motion pictures. We are able to see these images because light is used to project visual figures onto the screen. Projection requires light! Heat -- what does this have to do with light? Everything. The particles of energy in bulbs move so fast that they produce heat. That is why a burn occurs if a light bulb, that has been turned on for a few minutes, is touched.

We may think that light is nothing amazing, but in reality, it is! Light can come in many forms. Of course we all are familiar with the bulbs found in our homes, but we also produce light in fluorescent fixtures, neon lights which are used to produce signs and different shapes, headlights and other types of lights used on our automobiles, as well as, the flashlight.

All of these are variations of the basic electric light bulb. Just think how boring and hard life would be without light. We would be unable to complete many tasks at night due to limited visibility. There would be no television or movies, nighttime events would be almost nonexistent, and travel would be severely limited.

We should not take lighting for granted, but should instead be thankful each time we flip that switch or press that button.

Candace Holland, Citrus Springs Middle School

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