Happy World Radiography Day! Today’s holiday, which I’m sure you were already aware of, celebrates the accidental 1895 discovery of X-rays by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.
He was in his lab testing if cathode rays could pass through glass, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glow. It turned out that it was coming from a chemically coated screen. He didn’t fully understand what phenomenon he was seeing, though, and so he gave them the appropriately mysterious name “X-rays.”
With time and experimentation, Röntgen figured out that X-rays can pass through human flesh but not bone, lead or other dense substances. Medicine quickly picked up the new technology and began using it as a diagnostic tool, and in 1901 he was awarded the first Nobel Prize for physics.
The downside of X-rays was far less known, despite some early hints. Researchers working with them were experiencing burns and skin damage, and some began to contract skin cancer. But they were still used liberally through the 50s, including in public venues like shoe stores.
You can read more about Röntgen’s discovery on the Nobel Prize website.
