Why did Edison abandon the fluoroscope?

Here was an invention Edison was afraid of! Fluoroscopy is a technique to view images of the interior of something, using X-rays. This needed a fluorescent screen. Edison started to experiment on this, soon after Roentgen discovered the X-ray in 1895. He tried various substances trying to see how bright they would shine when exposed to X-rays. Ultimately he found that calcium tungstate screens are the most effective in showing the X-rays as visible light. This discovery enabled him to develop his fluoroscopic device.

Edison’s fluoroscope showed images in sufficient clarity, but he abandoned all research in this field in 1903. This was because of the health hazards involved. A lab assistant named Clarence Dally was repeatedly exposed to radiation, and she died of cancer. Edison later said, “Don’t talk to me about X-rays. I am afraid of them.”

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