HISTORY OF X-RAYS
The discovery that revolutionized modern medicine
The Great Discovery (1895)
On November 8, 1895, the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen accidentally discovered X-rays while experimenting with Crookes tubes and Ruhmkorff coils.
Röntgen noticed that a plate covered with barium platinocyanide fluoresced whenever the tube was in operation, even when the tube was covered with black cardboard.
Reconstruction of the laboratory where the discovery took place
The First Radiograph
The first "medical" radiograph in history was of the hand of Anna Bertha Ludwig, Röntgen's wife. Upon seeing her bones and wedding ring, she famously exclaimed: "I have seen my death!"
The hand of Bertha Röntgen (1895)
Timeline of Evolution
First clinical use: Within months of discovery, X-rays were already being used to find bullets and broken bones.
Nobel Prize: Wilhelm Röntgen receives the first Nobel Prize in Physics in history.
Coolidge Tube: William Coolidge invents the hot-cathode tube, allowing more stable and controllable radiation.
Computed Tomography (CT): Godfrey Hounsfield presents the first CT scanner, combining X-rays with computers.
Digital Radiology: The transition from physical film to digital sensors begins, revolutionizing storage and image quality.
Why "X" Rays?
Röntgen used the term "X" because he did not know the nature of the radiation he had discovered. Although many proposed calling them "Röntgen Rays," the original name persists today in many languages.