The discovery of X-rays X-rays were discovered by accident in 1895 by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Roentgen was already an accomplished scientist with forty-eight published papers. He had a reputation within the scientific community as a dedicated scientist with precise experimental methods. Roentgen had conducted experiments at the University of Würzburg on the effect of cathode rays on the luminescence of certain chemicals. Roentgen had placed a cathode ray tube, which is a partially evacuated glass tube with metal electrodes on each end, in a black cardboard box in his dark laboratory. He sent electricity through the cathode ray tube and noticed something strange in his laboratory. He saw a flash of light coming from a sheet of paper coated with barium platinocyanide that he had unknowingly left on a table at the other end of the laboratory. Roentgen knew that cathode rays could not penetrate the black box and only traveled short distances. He therefore deduced that another form of radiation emitted by the cathode ray tube was the cause of the luminescence. Roentgen called this new unknown radiation X-rays. X being the mathematical symbol for an unknown. Roentgen knew that to get credit for his discovery, he had to publish his findings before anyone else. He spent the next seven weeks, alone in his laboratory, carefully examining the specific nature of this new, very powerful radiation. He worked diligently during these seven weeks. He ate his meals in the laboratory and even slept there. During this period, he discovered that this new type of radiation had several specific properties. He discovered that x-rays were completely invisible, propagated in straight lines, could neither be reflected nor refracted, and were unaffected by the second scientific evolution. This put Roentgen on an equal footing with Galilio whose discoveries led to the first scientific revolution. Due to his refusal to patent his X-rays, his technology, and the hypoinflation of the German economy, Roentgen lived his life in poverty. He died in 1923 of intestinal cancer, probably caused by his prolonged and unprotected exposure to X-rays, which we now know are carcinogenic. Works CitedTravers, Bridget, ed. World of scientific discovery. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994, “X-Rays.” The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. 1996, “Nuclear Age Travelling” http://www.em:doe.gov/timeline/pre40shtml. 08/22/95, 03/10/98, 4:06. “Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen-Discovered X-rays.” http://www.fhuerzbnrg.de/roentgen/index_e.html.9/24/1996, 3/10/98,4:00 "X-rays."http://www.fishpond.demon.uo.uk /emspectrum/xray.html,3 /10/98.4:15