CENTENNIAL OF RÖNTGEN'S DISCOVERY OF X-RAYS

Abstract

X-rays were discovered on 8 November 1895 by Professor Wilhelm Röntgen, Professor of Physics at the University of Würzburg in Bavaria. It is therefore very appropriate to publish at the time of the centennial a brief resume of this momentous discovery which has led to so many advances not only in the field of radiodiagnosis and radiation therapy, but also in industrial fields such as non-destructive testing and detection of art forgeries, and in microscopy, and astronomy. This particular paper concentrates on the actual discovery by Röntgen, together with a commentary on early apparatus, and extensive reviews of other aspects have been published elsewhere^{1), 2)} as well as a book containing some 700 illustrations³⁾ of applications of X-rays in the early years in medicine and industry.