Radiar. Phys. Chem. Vol. 46, No. 3. pp. 299-302.

1995
ElsevierScience Ltd. Printed in Great Bntain
Pergamon 0969-806X(95)00063-1

RÖNTGEN CENTENARY-100 YEARS OF X-RAYS

ASGER LINDEGAARD-ANDERSEN and LEIF GERWARD

Physics Department, Building 307, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark

(Received 2 March 1995; accepted 6 March 1995)

Abstract-In 1995 it is 100 years since Röntgen discovered X-rays, and the event is celebrated al1 over the
world. Many myths about Röntgen and his discovery have developed as a resuh of the rather spectacular
properties of X-rays and the somewhat accidental way in which they were found. This paper is an attempt
to present the discovery in its proper context using contemporary and reliable sources.

a cardboard screen, covered with barium plati-

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
On 8 November 1895 an extraordinary discovery was
made in the physics laboratory of the University of
Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. Wilhelm Conrad
Röntgen, a professor aged 50, was studying, like many
other scientists of that time, the cathode rays produced
by a high-voltage discharge in an evacuated glass bulb.
During the course of his work he noticed the glow of
nocyanide and placed some distance from the cathode
ray tube. Röntgen traced the fluorescing to radiation
coming from the area where the cathode rays hit the
glass wal1 of the discharge tube. Remarkably, the
fluorescente was observed although the tube had been
surrounded by a close-fitting shield of black paper.
Using the fluorescent screen as a detector, Röntgen
discovered that the new rays, which he called X-rays,
could penetrate many substances quite opaque to
light. He noticed with amazement that the bones of his
hand were visible in the shadow image on the screen.
Soon he also found that photographic emulsions were
affected by X-rays in much the same way as by visible
light. This was an important piece of information,
because Röntgen now could document his findings on
film instead of having to rely on visual observations of
the fluorescent screen.
Röntgen was so obsessed by his discovery that
within 6 weeks he had made a remarkably thorough
investigation (Röntgen, 1895) of the properties of the
X-rays: he correctly identified thickness and density as
crucial parameters, determining the transparency of
bodies; he made the first quantitative estimates of
X-ray attenuation in matter by measuring equivalent
thicknesses of various materials; he noticed the
emission of secondary X-rays from irradiated objects;
he observed no deflection of the X-rays from prisms
and lenses and estimated that the index of refraction
deviated from unity by < 0.05; he was on the verge of
discovering diffraction in crystals when he compared
the transmitted intensities through solid and powdered
samples of rocksalt and other crystalline materials; he
observed and photographed many interesting shadow
pictures, e.g. that of a piece of a metal (Fig. l), where
the X-rays show the want of homogeneity; on 22
December 1895 Röntgen recorded on film the first
radiograph of a living human hand, belonging to his
wife, Bertha. The experimental arrangement is
illustrated in Fig. 2.

299
 Asger Lindegaard-Andersen and Leif Gerward
Fig. 1. Shadow picture of a piece of metal, where the X-rays
show the want of homogeneity. This is the first application
of radiography to non-destructive testing of a metal object.
Röntgen was especially apt at making experimental
devices. Within a couple of weeks he had put together
a rather elaborate piece of equipment before
submitting his second report (Röntgen, 1896), dealing
with the ionizing properties of X-rays. As a result of
his investigation of X-ray production he constructed
an efficient X-ray tube with a focusing aluminium
cathode and a planar platinum anode. With this tube
a smal1 focal spot could be obtained, which markedly
improved the sharpness of the radiographs. Within a
few months X-rays were used in hospitals in many
European capitals to detect foreign objects and
fractured bones in human patients.
After another year’s work Röntgen reported,
amongst other things, on the hardening of X-rays
when penetrating matter (Röntgen, 1897). Again, he
was close to discovering diffraction in crystals when he
recorded on film the transmission of an X-ray beam
through single crystal plates, cut in various
orientations. Why did he not observe the diffracted
X-rays? Probably he used a poorly collimated beam
resulting in weak and blurred diffraction spots. Maybe
Röntgen in fact did observe some faint spots on the
exposed films but could not ascribe them any sensible
meaning. Anyway, it was left to Max von Laue and his
assistants Walter Friedrich and Paul Knipping in 1912
to discover that X-rays could be diffracted in crystals
and to solve the outstanding problem of the nature of
X-rays (Friedrich et al., 1912).
Röntgen submitted his first X-ray paper (Röntgen,
1895) to the Physico-Medical Society of Würzburg on
28 December 1895. The first printing was available
already at the very beginning of January 1896, and
Röntgen mailed copies of it, together with a couple of
X-ray photographs, to some of his friends in Germany
and abroad. Sir Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., learnt about
the news when returning to his Manchester laboratory
from a short Christmas holiday:
On looking at the accumulated correspondence, 1 opened a
flat envelope containing photographs which, without
explanation, were unintelligible. Among them was one
showing the outlines of a hand, with its bones clearly marked
inside. 1 looked for a letter which might give the name of the
sender and explain the photograph. There was none: but
inside an insignificant wrapper 1 found a thin pamphlet
bearing the title “Uber eine neue Art von Strahlen,” by W.
C. Röntgen. This was the first authentic news that reached
England of the discovery of the so-called X-rays. 1 sent a
translation of the paper to Nature, where it appeared on
January 23, 1896 (Schuster, 1925).
Röntgen’s treatise proved to be one of the most
momentous announcements in scientific history. The
existente of invisible, penetrating rays that could
image the interior of the human body impressed the
popular imagination, and the discovery was reported
worldwide in the daily papers. In response to appeals
from his colleagues in the Physico-Medical Society of
Würzburg, Röntgen communicated his discoveries in
a memorable lecture demonstration on 23 January
1896. During the course of the lecture, Röntgen asked
the renowned anatomist Albert von Koelliker for
permission to record a radiograph of his hand. A loud
applause broke out as the successful radiograph
(Fig. 3) was circulated in the audience. Before closing
the meeting, von Koelliker proposed to cal1 the new
rays “Röntgensche Strahlen” (Friedrich, 1923).
Röntgen himself, however, modestly continued to use
the name X-rays.
An array of scientists sprang up and a flow of
observations and speculation followed. More than
1000 papers on X-rays were published in books and
journals in the pioneering year 1896 alone (Glasser,
1931, p. 296). However, so careful was Röntgen’s
original work that nothing essentially new was
produced in the following decade.
Though the manner of Röntgen’s major discovery
was somewhat accidental, the subsequent investi-
gation certainly revealed his scientific qualities: the
intuitive feeling for the important points, the
experimental proficiency and the strong ambition to
eliminate any possible source of error. In his work
Röntgen reached an unusually high degree of
reliability combined with an equally rare concen-
tration and simplicity (Wien, 1923). Whilst he
preferred to present his basic physical ideas without
resort to a mathematica1 formalism, he did not in the
least undervalue theoretical methods. On the contrary,
he would te11his students that the three pre-requisites
for successful physics study were: mathematics,
mathematics, and mathematics (Sommerfeld, 19 15).
Röntgen was a meticulous practica1 physicist.
Constructing most of his equipment himself, he had a
strong personal relation to his experimental devices.
“Instruments are often wiser than men”, he used to
say, and “He who mistreats the instruments is my
enemy” (Koch, 1923). He preferred to work on his
own, and only occasionally did he cal1 for assistance
 Röntgen centenary-100 years of X-rays
i
Fig. 2. Experimental arrangement for the recording of the first radiograph of a living human hand (from
Ellinger, 1897-98).
in setting up a device or, being colour blind, in judging
a shade. Röntgen regarded his scientific work as a kind
of struggle with Nature, who defends her secrets by
every conceivable means. “Nature is reticent”, he said
once, “she wants to deceive everybody, only rarely
does she vouchsafe you anything!” (Koch, 1923).
Röntgen had to pursue much of his research outside
normal hours. Obligations as a university teacher and
an institute directer took up a large share of his time.
He fulfilled his duties conscientiously and never
complained: “Man kann nicht immer Kaviar essen!”
he told his young assistants who were dreaming of
future positions, purely devoted to science (Koch,
1923). Actually, it was after his term as Rektor, or
university president, had ended that Röntgen
performed the crucial experiments that led to his
discovery.
Röntgen’s discovery could probably have earned
him a fortune but he never filed any patent, nor did he
seek financial gain from his inventions. In keeping with
his humble and faithful lifestyle he was satisfied with
the pleasure of discovering, and with the fact that his
academie position allowed him to undertake the
research that he enjoyed. Prophetically, Röntgen
described the excitement of scientific achievements,
301
T
using the words of Werner von Siemens, in a speech
that he delivered in 1894, i.e. the year before his
discovery:
If some phenomenon which has been shrouded in obscurity
suddenly emerges into the light of knowledge, if the key to a
long-sought mechanica1 combination has been found. if the
missing link ofa chain of thought is fortuitously supplied, this
then gives to the discoverer the exultant feeling that comes
with a victory of the mind, which alone can compensate him
for all the struggle and egort, and which lifts him to a higher
plane of existence.7
The years around the turn of the century constituted
a great time for radiation physics and chemistry. In
tWenn ein dem Geiste bisher nur dunkel vorschwebendes
Naturgesetz plötzlich klar sus dem es verhiillenden Nebel
hervortritt, wenn der Schliissel zu einer lange vergeblich
gesuchten mechanischen Combination gefunden ist.
wenn das fehlende Glied einer Gedankenkette sich
glücklich einfiigt, so gewährt dies dem Erfinder das
erhebende Gefiihl eines errungenen geistigen Sieges,
welches ihn allein schon für alle Mühen des Kampfes
reichlich entschädigt und ihn für den Augenblick auf eine
höhere Stufe des Daseins erhebt (Siemens 1892. p. 248).It
is known that Werner von Siemens’ autobiography.
which appeared in 1892, belonged to Röntgen’s favourite
reading (Boveri 1931. p. 131).
302 Asger Lindegaard-Andersen
Fig. 3. Radiograph of a human hand belonging to anatomist
Albert von Koelliker. The picture was recorded by Röntgen
during the dramatic meeting of the Physico-Medical Society
of Würzburg on 23 January 1896. The use of an X-ray tube
with a focusing cathode has resulted in a remarkable
sharpness of the radiograph.
November 1896 Antoine-Henri Becquerel presented
to the Paris Academy of Sciences his discovery of
radioactive radiations emitted by uranium com-
pounds; in 1897 Sir Joseph John (J. J.) Thomson
discovered that cathode rays are made up of discrete
particles of negative electricity or electrons; in the same
year Ernest Rutherford examined the radiations from
uranium and found the c(- and /I-rays, which he later
identified as nuclei of helium and electrons,
respectively; in 1898 Pierre and Marie Curie
announced the discovery of polonium and radium; in
the same year Paul Villard discovered y-rays and
found them to be of the same type of ray as the X-rays.
and Leif Gerward
On 10 December 1901 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
became the first ever recipient of the Nobel Prize for
physics. Today, computerized tomography scanners,
brilliant synchrotron radiation sources, and satellites
for X-ray astronomy are but a few examples of the
tremendous progress in X-ray science and technology.
Acknowledgements-We thank C. S. G. Cousins and J. H.
Hubbell for helpful suggestions. Also, we would like to
mention that a wealth of information is contained in Otto
Glasser’s (1931) and Margret Boveri’s (1931) very nice
tributes to Röntgen.
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