The development of science resulted a number of important discoveries. Some of those discoveries were even accidentally discovered while conducting certain experiments.
Who Discovered X Rays and When?
On November 9, 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923) discovered an X-ray.
Rontgen initially performed a series of experiments conducted without publishing the results. Using a laboratory in Germany’s Wurzburg, Rontgen tested whether cathode rays could penetrate glass when coated with nearby chemicals.
As a result, this low-pressure cathode rays are able to penetrate solid objects.
He also learned that his findings were able to “penetrate” the human body, but could not penetrate higher density objects such as bones or lead. However, the results can still be captured through a photograph.
After the discovery, he referred to it as x-rays because he did not know the nature of the rays.
The discovery of X-Ray is a form of advancement of science and useful in various fields, especially medicine.
X-rays are electromagnetic energy waves that act similarly to light rays, but have wavelengths a thousand times shorter than light rays.
Rontgen deliberately locked himself in his lab to conduct a series of experiments to better understand his discovery.
He learned that X-Rays are capable of penetrating human flesh and can be photographed.
In some of his experiments, such as the Nobel Prize, Rontgen also used his wife’s left hand to observe the development of the plates on the image illuminated by the X-Ray.
The discovery was labelled a ‘medical miracle’.
X-rays soon became an important diagnostic tool in medicine and allowed doctors to look into the human body for the first time without surgery.
In addition, Rontgen are also experts in making mechanical designs.
Early life and career
Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen was born in Lennep, Lower Rhine, Prussia (Germany) on 27 March 1845.
He was the only child of a merchant and a clothing manufacturer.
His mother, Charlotte Constanze Frowein from Amsterdam, his family came from living in Amsterdam.
When he was three years old, his family moved to Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
Rontgen later attended the Martinus Herman van Doorn Institute.
He loved the outdoors and loved exploring the countryside and forests.
Studied physics and became a lecturer assistant
In 1865 Röntgen attended Utrecht university to study physics. His achievements were not special, but Röntgen was then able to enter the mechanical engineering department at the Polytechnic in Zurich for passing his entrance exam.
During his studies, he was guided by his lecturer, Clausius, who also worked in Kundt’s laboratory. In 1869 Röntgen earned his Ph.D at the University of Zurich and was appointed Kundt’s assistant.
In 1874 Röntgen became a lecturer at the University of Strasbourg, in 1875 becoming a professor at the Honenheim Academy of Agriculture in Wurtemberg. In 1876 he returned to Strasbourg as Professor of Physics, but three years later accepted an offer to become Chairman of the Department of Physics at the University of Giessen.
Rontgen married Anna Bertha Ludwig of Zurich in 1872 in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
They first met at a cafe run by his father.
Rontgen and Anna had no children, but in 1887 they adopted Josephine Bertha Ludwig, the son of Anna’s brother who died.
Become an academic and discover X-rays.
Rontgen’s first work was published in 1870, which was about gas-specific heat capacity.
A few years later, he published a paper on the thermal conductivity of crystals.
Among the problems he examined were quartz characteristics, the influence of pressure on the bias index of various fluids, changes in light fields polarized by electromagnetic influences, variations in temperature function and the compressibility of water and other fluids and the phenomena accompanying the spread of oil drops in water.
Rontgen examined the effects of electrical charge on vacuum tubes for decades.
At that time, the science of electricity was still relatively new and much had to understand.
Rontgen conducted an experiment on November 8, 1895.
He connected a vacuum tube named Hittorf-Crookes to an electrostatic charge generator known as the Ruhmkorff Coil.
He tried to reproduce the fluorescent effect with another type of vacuum tube called the Lenard Tube.
The filaments inside produce a flow of electrons known as cathode rays.
Surprisingly, the experiment produced a glow on a screen lined with a compound called barium platinocyanide, a few feet away.
He also found that if his hands were placed between electrically charged vacuum tubes and screens covered with barium platinocyanide, he could see the bones of his hands.
He repeated this experiment with his wife and frightened her.
After secretly confirming his discovery, he published an article titled, “Über eine neue Art von Strahlen” or “Regarding a New Kind of Light” in 1896.
This ray of its findings was later called X-rays and contributed greatly to the world of health.
For his contributions, Rontgen received an honorary degree with honors.
In addition, in 1901, Rontgen was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics.
He was the first winner of the award.
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