German physicist; awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901
Plate 073
8 November 1895
Würzburg, Germany
No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
Wilhelm Röntgen noticed the new rays on 8 November 1895 and published his findings on 28 December 1895.
About credit
Röntgen’s discovery is well documented. Earlier researchers had seen effects of similar rays without understanding them.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before X-rays
The inside of a living body could be seen only through surgery or after death.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
While experimenting with a cathode ray tube, Röntgen saw a screen glow across the room. He X-rayed his wife’s hand, showing her bones and wedding ring. Hospitals began using X-rays within weeks.
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
X-rays, explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
Shadow imaging
Dense tissue like bone absorbs more X-rays than soft tissue, so it casts a shadow on film.
Shadow imaging
Dose matters
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Medicine
Fractures and foreign objects were located quickly.
Science
X-ray crystallography revealed the structure of DNA and proteins.
Doctors could see fractures, bullets and diseases without cutting. Imaging became central to medicine.
V
Before and after
Life before and after X-rays
Before
Guess by touch.
After
A picture of the break.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.
VI
Its legacy
What came after
MHI 073
X-rays
Beyond the collection
CT and MRI
Modern scanners build on medical imaging ideas.
Beyond the collection
Crystallography
Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray images helped reveal the shape of DNA.
VII
Human stories
The people and the moments
Frau Röntgen’s hand
The first medical X-ray picture, of Anna Bertha Röntgen’s hand, shows her ring. Reportedly she said she had seen her own death.
Where accounts differ, this museum follows the documented record and says so.