125 Years of X-Rays Podcast By cover art

125 Years of X-Rays

125 Years of X-Rays

Listen for free

View show details
X-rays are common today, but their accidental discovery 125 years ago was celebrated around the world as a scientific miracle and earned Wilhelm Röntgen the first Nobel Prize in physics. Röntgen was working in his lab in Germany, trying to replicate the experiments of other scientists with an electrified cathode tube, when he noticed some barium-painted cardboard nearby fluorescing. Puzzled, he turned off the lights, but it continued to glow. He realized the cathode tube was emitting something other than light. When he went to move the barium board, he noticed a lead plate cast a shadow on it. He began to try to create images, placing objects between the tube and the cardboard. He realized the mysterious rays were penetrating soft objects but not hard, and was shocked to see, in one image, what looked like the bones of his hand! Recognizing the potential, he tried to capture a clearer image of bones. He finally produced one of his wife’s hand and published it in an article. Not knowing what the rays were, he named them after the mathematical unknown, “x.” Worldwide acclaim was swift. Within a month, he was called in front of Kaiser Wilhelm to demonstrate and awarded a prestigious medal on the spot. Within a year, doctors in the Balkan war were using X-rays to find bullets and broken bones, and scientists the world over were experimenting with them… without understanding their risks. But that’s a story for another EarthDate.
No reviews yet