Discovery of x-raysHand mit Ringen: print of Wilhelm RÃ¶ntgen's first "medical" x-ray, of his wife's hand, taken on 22 December 1895 and presented to Professor Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institut, University of Freiburg, on 1 January 1896[4][5]

An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by RÃ¶ntgen of Albert von KÃ¶lliker's hand at a public lecture on 23 January 1896[6]

During 1895 RÃ¶ntgen was investigating the external effects from the various types of vacuum tube equipment-apparatus from Heinrich Hertz, Johann Hittorf, William Crookes, Nikola Tesla and Philipp von Lenard-when an electrical discharge is passed through them.[7] In early November he was repeating an experiment with one of Lenard's tubes in which a thin aluminum window had been added to permit the cathode rays to exit the tube but a cardboard covering was added to protect the aluminum from damage by the strong electrostatic field that is necessary to produce the cathode rays. He knew the cardboard covering prevented light from escaping, yet RÃ¶ntgen observed that the invisible cathode rays caused a fluorescent effect on a small cardboard screen painted with barium platinocyanide when it was placed close to the aluminum window. It occurred to RÃ¶ntgen that the Hittorf-Crookes tube, which had a much thicker glass wall than the Lenard tube, might also cause this fluorescent effect.

In the late afternoon of 8 November 1895, RÃ¶ntgen determined to test his idea. He carefully constructed a black cardboard covering similar to the one he had used on the Lenard tube. He covered the Hittorf-Crookes tube with the cardboard and attached electrodes to a Ruhmkorff coil to generate an electrostatic charge. Before setting up the barium platinocyanide screen to test his idea, RÃ¶ntgen darkened the room to test the opacity of his cardboard cover. As he passed the Ruhmkorff coil charge through the tube, he determined that the cover was light-tight and turned to prepare the next step of the experiment. It was at this point that RÃ¶ntgen noticed a faint shimmering from a bench a meter away from the tube. To be sure, he tried several more discharges and saw the same shimmering each time. Striking a match, he discovered the shimmering had come from the location of the barium platinocyanide screen he had been intending to use next.

RÃ¶ntgen speculated that a new kind of ray might be responsible. 8 November was a Friday, so he took advantage of the weekend to repeat his experiments and make his first notes. In the following weeks he ate and slept in his laboratory as he investigated many properties of the new rays he temporarily termed X-rays, using the mathematical designation for something unknown. Although the new rays would eventually come to bear his name in many languages where they became known as RÃ¶ntgen Rays, he always preferred the term X-rays. Nearly two weeks after his discovery, he took the very first picture using x-rays of his wife's hand, Anna Bertha. When she saw her skeleton she exclaimed "I have seen my death!"

The idea that RÃ¶ntgen happened to notice the barium platinocyanide screen misrepresents his investigative powers; he had planned to use the screen in the next step of his experiment and would therefore have made the discovery a few moments later.

At one point while he was investigating the ability of various materials to stop the rays, RÃ¶ntgen brought a small piece of lead into position while a discharge was occurring. RÃ¶ntgen thus saw the first radiographic image, his own flickering ghostly skeleton on the barium platinocyanide screen. He later reported that it was at this point that he determined to continue his experiments in secrecy, because he feared for his professional reputation if his observations were in error.

RÃ¶ntgen's original paper, "On A New Kind Of Rays" (Ãœber eine neue Art von Strahlen), was published 50 days later on 28 December 1895. On 5 January 1896, an Austrian newspaper reported RÃ¶ntgen's discovery of a new type of radiation. RÃ¶ntgen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of WÃ¼rzburg after his discovery. He published a total of 3 papers on X-rays between 1895 and 1897. Today, RÃ¶ntgen is considered the father of diagnostic radiology, the medical specialty which uses imaging to diagnose disease.

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