The production and properties of soft Röntgen radiation

Abstract

There is a class of problem of the greatest interest in connection with primary Röntgen rays, which as yet has received but little attention from experimental investigators. The kind of problem referred to is indicated by the following two leading questions :— (1) How do the properties of Röntgen radiation depend on the velocity of the parent cathode rays ? (2) How do the properties of Röntgen radiation depend on the nature of the anticathode used to arrest the motion of the parent cathode rays ? The present communication has to do with soft Röntgen radiation such as is produced in a discharge tube working at only a few thousand volts. The only investigator who appears to have worked with such rays is W. Seitz, and his experiments are referred to later. As a preliminary it will be convenient to present a general view of the ground which will be covered, and to indicate broadly the method employed.