The Discovery of X-Rays

From the ancient time probably one of the most popular questions among people was how their bones re constructed, and how they are joned. Moreover, it was alsmost impossible for surgeons to identify where in the body bullets can be located and consequently a successful removement of it was equalized to magic. This situation continued until late 1895, when a German physicist, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, discovered X-rays, and as a result he invented a mechanism of filming human bones in a picture ( Tice 2007, 1).

W. Roentgen was an ordinary person, without a high school diploma and without having a name of extraordinary physicist ( The history of the X-rays 2003). However, he finished the Polytechnical School in Zurich, Germani. Then he was working as an assistant of Dr. August Kundt, who was known as famous theoretical physicist at that time, and after that he became a head of the physics department at the University of Wuerzburg. Roentgen was not a favorite teacher for his students, however, he was always bias to do practicalal parts of the studies. His wife was a chronical ill woman, and mostly he was sitting with her at home, so he was not very social person ( ibid).

The studies of W. Roentgen was based on cathode rays in Crookes tube and fluorescing screen, which were in use for almost several decades. However, the main point is that Roentgen focused on lights which are deflected outside of the tubes in dark room. He was wondering if the new rays from cathode propagated straight, as do cathode rays itself, or what was the defference between them. He also tried to investigate their reflection and refraction points. The used materials in the experiments were constructed by himself. After experementing six weeks in his laboratory, he came to conclusion that these new rays, called just X, was not refracted with water and carbon bisulphate in mica prism, also ebonite and glass lenses where useless. But with a help of ebonite and alliminium prism Roentgen was able to refract X-rays in photographic plates. After other experiments he noted that, these rays can easily pass through powdered rock salts, and zinc dust. The visible light can not through these materials, because of it refraction and reflection abilities. Finally Roentgen concuded that X-rays can hardly be refracted and reflected, they originated from cathode tubes bright fluorescine, and they are distinct from cathode rays by their insensibility to the magnets ( Assmus 1995, 13-15).