This paper argues that the contemporary category of `emerging technology' has probative value for historians of technology, because the vulnerable transitional phase the term is understood to refer to is also when actors outside of the traditional dyad of users and innovators can be most influential. In the case of X-ray generating apparatuses at the turn of the twentieth century, their success cannot be accounted for by the relatively small coterie of physicians who were both wealthy and technically sophisticated enough to purchase one, nor from any overwhelming medical utility. Rather, a diverse and diffuse community ranging from electrical hobbyists to photographers not only influenced the form and function of the artifact, making it more accessible to physicians, but also brought public attention to the technology, rendering it more commercially viable.
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