C-11 X-Ray Viewer, c. 1900
Item
Title
C-11 X-Ray Viewer, c. 1900
Date
1900
Description
Wilhem Conrad Roentgen, professor of physics in Wurzberg, Bavaria, accidentally discovered the X-ray in 1895. During an attempt to pass cathode rays through glass, an incandescent green light escaped and projected onto a nearby fluorescent screen. Later he took an X-ray photograph of his wife’s hand that revealed the rays could view through the body and photograph bones. Since he did not know what rays these were, he named them “X” rays short for “unknown”.
Identifier
4.2a.08
Rights
Courtesy of the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
Subject
Department of Anatomy