Mrs. Rontgen’s Hand
The x-ray images were discovered by German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. This discovery was made while he was at the University of Würzburg. Research was being conducted concerning electron beams in a gas discharge tube. The florescent screen in his lab began to glow once the tube was on. This lead Wilhelm to question why the light continue to shine through the heavy cardboard surrounding the tube. After placing several things between the tube and the screen, Wilhelm placed his hand between the two. The resulting image was an silhouette of his bones.
The first image ever taken was a picture of Mrs. Röntgen’s hand, as you can see her wedding ring is shown clearly on the image. The other three images that Röntgen took were of weights, a piece of metal and a compass.
This discovery is used in many different applications to this day, but the most effective was the use of seeing bone imaging.
Radiologic Technologist 