1895 discovery of X-rays. History of the discovery of X-rays

Doctors of past centuries never dreamed of looking inside a living person without making any incisions. For them it was a fairy tale, but today it has become an everyday reality. Modern doctors cannot even imagine how they can diagnose many diseases without x-rays. Today this is considered the most common type of diagnostic testing. But at one time, the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen became a revolution in science and medicine as well. How did this happen?

The future scientist was born in 1845 in Germany near Dusseldorf. His path to science was not easy. The problems began at school, from which X-ray was expelled without receiving a matriculation certificate. But this did not stop him from studying on his own. He attended lectures at Utrecht University and studied mechanical engineering in Zurich. The famous physicist August Kundt took the inquisitive and talented young man as his assistant. Several years passed, and Roentgen became a professor in Strasbourg, and since 1894 he has been the rector of the University of Würzburg.

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

The discovery of X-rays occurred on November 8, 1895. That day, Roentgen worked late in his laboratory. Just as he was about to leave, he turned off the lamp and suddenly saw a slight greenish glow in the darkness. The substance in the jar standing on the table glowed. X-ray saw that he forgot to turn off one device - an electron vacuum tube. He turned off the receiver - the glow disappeared, turned it on again - it appeared. The most surprising thing was that the device stood in one corner of the laboratory, and the jar with a luminous substance was in the other. This means, the scientist decided, some unknown radiation is emanating from the device.

Realizing that he had encountered a new phenomenon, Roentgen began to carefully examine the mysterious rays. He installed a screen opposite the tube and, to determine the strength of the radiation, placed various objects between them. A book, a board, sheets of paper - they all turned out to be transparent to the rays. X-ray placed a box with a set of weights under the rays. Their shadows became clearly visible on the screen. The scientist's hand accidentally fell under the beam of rays. X-ray froze in place. He saw his own hand bones moving. Bone tissue, like metal, turned out to be impenetrable to rays. The scientist’s wife was the first to learn about the outstanding discovery of X-rays. X-rays photographed Frau Bertha's hand using X-rays. This was the first X-ray in history.

X-ray continued to study open beams, checking and rechecking the results obtained. He made his discovery

first ever x-ray

described in the manuscript “On a new type of rays,” which he sent to the Würzburg Physico-Medical Society.

The discovery of X-rays shocked the whole world. Physicists enthusiastically accepted Roentgen's discovery and named the new rays X-rays in his honor. Roentgen himself reacted calmly to his discovery. He immediately understood the importance of rays for diagnostics in medicine. Somewhat later, the scientist found out that with their help you can easily determine the quality of various products. Nowadays, X-rays are used in various fields of science and technology. With their help, art historians can accurately determine the authenticity of paintings, distinguish precious stones from fakes, and it has become easier for customs officers to detain smugglers.

But the main place where these rays are used is in medical institutions. Within a year after its discovery, X-rays began to be used to diagnose fractures. But the capabilities of the rays turned out to be much wider. A new field was formed in medicine - radiology. Modern medical technology uses X-ray radiation to examine any internal organs. In this case, the image can be seen not only on film, but also on the monitor screen. X-rays are used not only in diagnostics, but also in the treatment of certain diseases, such as cancer.

However, X-ray radiation also has negative qualities. If used incorrectly, it becomes hazardous to health. Neither Roentgen himself nor his contemporaries knew about this and worked without taking any precautions. Many physicists at that time suffered severe radiation burns. Only years later were safe radiation doses determined and protective equipment created.

In 1901, Wilhelm Roentgen was awarded the first Nobel Prize in physics. The scientist donated all the money he received to the university where he made his discovery. Roentgen lived until he was 78 years old and, being a tireless worker, he was engaged in scientific research until the last days of his life.

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118 years ago, physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered “X-rays” Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered “X-rays” X-rays see through...

German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, professor and rector of the University of Würzburg (Bavaria), experimenting alone in a university laboratory, unexpectedly discovered “all-penetrating” rays, which, after him, are now called “X-rays” (“X-rays”) all over the world. , and in Russia - “X-ray” or “X-ray”.

And it was like this. On November 8, 1895, when his assistants had already gone home, Roentgen continued to work. He turned on the current again in the cathode tube, covered on all sides with thick black paper. Barium platinocyanide crystals lying nearby began to glow greenish. The scientist turned off the current - the glow of the crystals stopped. When voltage was reapplied to the cathode tube, the glow in the crystals, which were in no way connected with the device, resumed.

As a result of further research, the scientist came to the conclusion that unknown radiation was emanating from the tube, which he later called X-rays.

Roentgen's experiments showed that X-rays originate at the point where cathode rays collide with an obstacle inside the cathode tube. The scientist made a tube of a special design - the anti-cathode was flat, which ensured an intense flow of X-rays. Thanks to this tube (it would later be called X-ray), he studied and described the basic properties of previously unknown radiation, which was called X-ray.

As it turns out, X-rays can penetrate many opaque materials; however, it is not reflected or refracted. X-ray radiation ionizes the surrounding air and illuminates photographic plates. Roentgen also took the first photographs using X-rays.

The discovery of the German scientist greatly influenced the development of science. Experiments and studies using X-rays helped to obtain new information about the structure of matter, which, together with other discoveries of that time, forced us to reconsider a number of principles of classical physics.

After a short period of time, X-ray tubes found application in medicine and various fields of technology. For this epoch-making discovery, which laid the foundation for atomic-nuclear science, Roentgen was awarded the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

We remember the discovery of X-rays, the scientist who gave his Nobel Prize for the good of peace and the hand of his wife.

On this day in 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays, which were later named after him. By the way, the scientist’s last name is not actually Röntgen. That's right: through “e”. Be that as it may, the entertaining story of the life of the great physicist deserves to be told from the very beginning.

The parents of the future physicist had nothing to do with science. Roentgen's father was a manufacturer, and his mother was a housewife. However, Wilhelm himself showed the corresponding abilities in childhood. That's how he ended up in a technical school. But soon the young man was expelled from there. The fact is that one day one of the students drew a caricature of the teacher. X-ray knew the name of the joker, but refused to give it up. From then on, the road to the university was closed to Wilhelm. All he could count on was the status of a free listener.

However, Roentgen nevertheless entered a higher educational institution. True, not in his native Holland, but in Switzerland. There he met the daughter of the owner of the university boarding house, Anna Bertha Ludwig. Soon they got married. The couple really wanted children, but Anna never managed to get pregnant. However, one misfortune helped the newlyweds find the desired joy. Anna's six-year-old niece was orphaned, and the Roentgens took her into their home.

The scientist continued his work, which he took up immediately after graduating from university. He investigated the properties of crystals, electricity and... Despite the fact that Roentgen was already at a fairly advanced age and had not become famous for anything special, he was absolutely happy. He dedicated his life to what he loved. This is all he could have dreamed of. He spent days and nights in his laboratory.

One day, namely late in the evening of November 8, 1895, Roentgen was getting ready to go home. By that time he was already working at a university in the German city of Würzburg. He turned off the light and suddenly noticed that a sheet of paper covered with crystals lying not far from the cathode tube was glowing. The scientist returned, turned off the tube, and the glow disappeared. Roentgen became interested in this phenomenon and again stayed in the laboratory overnight.

Over the next few months, he studied the mysterious light, which he modestly called X-rays. He noticed that objects placed between the tube and the paper cast different shadows. So paper and wood let rays pass through themselves, and metal casts a shadow. In the end, Roentgen used his own hand as experimental material. Thus, one of the most common diagnostic methods today was discovered. Soon the physicist reported his discovery in the newspapers. A clear illustration of the main property of X-rays was a photograph of the scientist’s wife’s hand. The shadow from the ring looked especially bright in the photo.

Despite the success, the physicist was in no hurry to patent his invention. Perhaps he did not see any practical benefit, or perhaps he simply was not distinguished by vanity. Be that as it may, Roentgen's discovery created a real sensation. In Europe, scammers immediately appeared who offered everyone to buy binoculars with a built-in X-ray machine, or clothes that did not transmit X-rays.

However, real scientists immediately found practical applications for the radiation discovered by X-ray. Basically, X-rays played a huge role in the development of medicine. Now, with their help, doctors could study the structure of the skeleton, as well as diagnose various diseases and injuries. The most interesting thing is that X-rays began to be used to treat certain diseases.

Thus, without wanting to, Wilhelm Roentgen gained worldwide fame and resisted it as much as he could. He refused the title of nobility granted to him. And in 1901, when Roentgen became the first Nobel Prize winner in history, he was so passionate about his research that he did not go to the award ceremony. The award was sent to him by mail. But the scientist did not keep this tidy sum for himself; he donated it to the government during the First World War.

The physicist's beloved wife passed away before him. By that time, their adopted daughter had grown up, married and left her parents' home. X-ray was left alone with a very modest income. He died alone at the age of 77 from cancer, which may have been a consequence of his work.

Today, many decades later, X-rays remain one of the fastest, and therefore most common, diagnostic methods in the world. However, even today the profession of a radiologist is quite harmful. After all, the risk of getting cancer due to constant exposure to ionizing radiation is 40% higher among radiologists compared to representatives of other specialties. This is especially true for those who have devoted more than 10 years to this work. According to statistics, the most common disease among X-ray technicians is myeloid leukemia, a disease that affects the hematopoietic system. Therefore, do not forget to congratulate your familiar x-ray room employees and thank them for their dedicated work!

X-rays play a huge role in modern medicine; the history of the discovery of X-rays dates back to the 19th century.

X-rays are electromagnetic waves that are produced with the participation of electrons. When charged particles are strongly accelerated, artificial X-rays are created. It passes through special equipment:

• charged particle accelerators.

History of discovery

These rays were invented in 1895 by the German scientist Roentgen: while working with a cathode ray tube, he discovered the fluorescence effect of barium platinum cyanide. It was then that such rays and their amazing ability to penetrate the tissues of the body were described. The rays became known as x-rays (x-rays). Later in Russia they began to be called X-ray.

X-rays can even penetrate walls. So Roentgen realized that he had made the greatest discovery in the field of medicine. It was from this time that separate sections in science began to form, such as radiology and radiology.

The rays are able to penetrate through soft tissue, but are delayed, their length is determined by the obstacle of the hard surface. The soft tissues in the human body are skin, and the hard tissues are bones. In 1901, the scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize.

However, even before the discovery of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, other scientists were also interested in a similar topic. In 1853, French physicist Antoine-Philibert Mason studied a high-voltage discharge between electrodes in a glass tube. The gas contained in it began to release a reddish glow at low pressure. Pumping out excess gas from the tube led to the disintegration of the glow into a complex sequence of individual luminous layers, the hue of which depended on the amount of gas.

In 1878, William Crookes (English physicist) suggested that fluorescence occurs due to the impact of rays on the glass surface of the tube. But all these studies were not published anywhere, so Roentgen had no idea about such discoveries. After publishing his discoveries in 1895 in a scientific journal, where the scientist wrote that all bodies are transparent to these rays, although to very different degrees, other scientists became interested in similar experiments. They confirmed the invention of Roentgen, and subsequently the development and improvement of X-rays began.

Wilhelm Roentgen himself published two more scientific papers on the topic of X-rays in 1896 and 1897, after which he took up other activities. Thus, several scientists invented it, but it was Roentgen who published scientific works on this subject.

Principles of image acquisition

The features of this radiation are determined by the very nature of their appearance. Radiation occurs due to an electromagnetic wave. Its main properties include:

1. Reflection. If a wave hits the surface perpendicularly, it will not be reflected. In some situations, diamond has the property of reflection.
2. Ability to penetrate tissue. In addition, rays can pass through opaque surfaces of materials such as wood, paper, etc.
3. Absorption. Absorption depends on the density of the material: the denser it is, the more X-rays absorb it.
4. Some substances fluoresce, that is, glow. As soon as the radiation stops, the glow also goes away. If it continues after the cessation of the rays, then this effect is called phosphorescence.
5. X-rays can illuminate photographic film, just like visible light.
6. If the beam passes through the air, then ionization occurs in the atmosphere. This state is called electrically conductive, and it is determined using a dosimeter, which sets the radiation dosage rate.

Radiation - harm and benefit

When the discovery was made, the physicist Roentgen could not even imagine how dangerous his invention was. In the old days, all devices that produced radiation were far from perfect and ended up with large doses of released rays. People did not understand the danger of such radiation. Although some scientists even then put forward theories about the dangers of X-rays.

X-rays, penetrating into tissues, have a biological effect on them. The unit of measurement for radiation dose is roentgen per hour. The main influence is on the ionizing atoms that are located inside the tissues. These rays act directly on the DNA structure of a living cell. The consequences of uncontrolled radiation include:

• cell mutation;
• the appearance of tumors;
• radiation burns;
• radiation sickness.

Contraindications to X-ray examinations:

1. The patients are in serious condition.
2. Pregnancy period due to negative effects on the fetus.
3. Patients with bleeding or open pneumothorax.

How does x-ray work and where is it used?

1. In medicine. X-ray diagnostics is used to examine living tissues in order to identify certain disorders within the body. X-ray therapy is performed to eliminate tumor formations.
2. In science. The structure of substances and the nature of x-rays are revealed. These issues are dealt with by such sciences as chemistry, biochemistry, and crystallography.
3. In industry. To detect irregularities in metal products.
4. For the safety of the population. X-rays are installed in airports and other public places to scan luggage.

Medical uses of x-ray radiation. In medicine and dentistry, X-rays are widely used for the following purposes:

1. To diagnose diseases.
2. For monitoring metabolic processes.
3. For the treatment of many diseases.

The use of X-rays for medicinal purposes

In addition to detecting bone fractures, X-rays are widely used for therapeutic purposes. The specialized application of x-rays is to achieve the following goals:

1. To destroy cancer cells.
2. To reduce tumor size.
3. To reduce pain.

For example, radioactive iodine, used for endocrinological diseases, is actively used for thyroid cancer, thereby helping many people get rid of this terrible disease. Currently, to diagnose complex diseases, X-rays are connected to computers, resulting in the emergence of the latest research methods, such as computed axial tomography.

These scans provide doctors with color images that show a person's internal organs. To detect the functioning of internal organs, a small dose of radiation is sufficient. X-rays are also widely used in physiotherapy.

Basic properties of X-rays

1. Penetrating ability. All bodies are transparent to the X-ray beam, and the degree of transparency depends on the thickness of the body. It is thanks to this property that the beam began to be used in medicine to detect the functioning of organs, the presence of fractures and foreign bodies in the body.
2. They are capable of causing some objects to glow. For example, if barium and platinum are applied to cardboard, then, after passing through scanning rays, it will glow greenish-yellow. If you place your hand between the X-ray tube and the screen, the light will penetrate more into the bone than into the tissue, so bone tissue will appear brightest on the screen, and muscle tissue less brightly.
3. Action on photographic film. X-rays can, like light, make a film dark, this allows you to photograph the shadow side that is obtained when examining bodies with X-rays.
4. X-rays can ionize gases. This allows not only to find the rays, but also to determine their intensity by measuring the ionization current in the gas.
5. They have a biochemical effect on the body of living beings. Thanks to this property, X-rays have found wide application in medicine: they can treat both skin diseases and diseases of internal organs. In this case, the desired dosage of radiation and the duration of the rays are selected. Prolonged and excessive use of such treatment is very harmful and detrimental to the body.

The use of X-rays has resulted in the saving of many human lives. X-rays not only help to diagnose the disease in a timely manner; treatment methods using radiation therapy relieve patients from various pathologies, from hyperfunction of the thyroid gland to malignant tumors of bone tissue.

Despite the fact that more than a hundred years have passed since the discovery of X-rays, this scientific breakthrough is still considered one of the most significant events in the field of medicine, which made it possible to transfer the process of diagnosing many different diseases to a fundamentally new level. It's hard to imagine, but until 1895, doctors had no other way to look inside a living human body without surgery.

Of course, this seriously complicated the treatment process, and it was almost impossible to determine the presence of many diseases. It is for this reason that the medicine of that time was quite unreliable, and doctors very often could not give any guarantees to their patients. But all this changed on November 8, 1895, thanks to the work of one of the most hardworking and talented physicists of the 19th century, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. But first things first, because the scientist’s personality itself deserves no less attention than his main discovery.

The Long Journey of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Wilhelm was born in 1845 in the fairly large and developed German city of Dusseldorf. From a very early age he showed great interest in physics, but with other sciences things were much worse for him. For this reason, he was unable to fully complete school and receive a matriculation certificate. However, the young man did not despair, and independently signed up for lectures at Utrecht University, where the popular physicist August Kundt taught at that time. He noticed a purposeful young man, and pretty soon took him as his assistant. So Roentgen received a full-fledged higher education, and a few years later he even took the position of one of the leading professors of physics at the University of Strasbourg. In parallel with this, he conducted a lot of research, wrote scientific papers, and his potential was noted by the fact that in 1894 he was appointed to the position of rector at the University of Würzburg.

It is worth noting that this helped him get the most modern equipment for research, as well as enough time for work, which he did not waste.

A unique discovery that turned the world upside down

On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen, as always, worked late in his laboratory. When he was about to leave, it was dark and, turning off all the instruments and lights, he noticed that a jar of clear liquid in one of the corners of the laboratory began to glow green. After thinking a little, Roentgen noticed that in his haste he had not turned off one device - the vacuum tube. After turning it off, the glow disappeared, and the scientist began to study his accidental discovery. The fact was that the jar of liquid stood at the other end of the room, which means that the vacuum tube emitted a special beam. To test its properties, the physicist began to place various objects in its path - a sheet of paper, cardboard, glass and even wooden boards. The beam passed through all these objects without the slightest difficulty. But when he placed a box of metal weights on the way, he was able to see their clear outlines.

The scientist continued his experiments for several hours, and in the process his hand also fell into the beam's action area. What the scientist saw shocked him - he saw right through his hand, and only the bones remained opaque.

After several days of intense research, he took the world's first X-ray, using X-rays to photograph his wife Bertha's hand. This was followed by many more different experiments, the essence of which he revealed in his scientific work, which gained great popularity in the physical and medical scientific community.

This discovery created a real sensation, and the new rays were named X-rays in honor of their discoverer. The scientist herself reacted to her discovery quite calmly, and being a thorough and consistent person, she began to actively explore the features and potential areas of application of her discovery. A year later he learned about most of the features of these rays. For his work, Roentgen received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Significance of the discovery of X-rays

The discovery of X-rays was a powerful impetus for the development of medicine. Based on Roentgen's research, another branch of science appeared, called radiology, which dealt with the diagnosis of diseases using images. Since defining fractures, researchers have been able to identify many different diseases. And with the development of oncological diseases, X-rays began to be used not only to search for malignant neoplasms, but also to treat them.

It is also worth noting that the discovery of Roentgen turned out to be so significant and important that to this day, these rays are used in many areas of life. They are actively used in jewelry to determine the authenticity of precious stones; in art, they can be used to quickly distinguish the original from the fake. X-rays play a vital role in security matters, making it much easier to analyze the contents of large amounts of luggage for weapons or explosives in customs areas and airports. Also, these rays are used in many areas of industry and science, thanks to which the discovery of Wilhelm Roentgen can rightfully be considered one of the most significant achievements of all time in the field of physics.