Story Highlights
- historical event: In one of his experiments in a darkened room, he suddenly noticed a flash. He concluded that this shimmering was caused by some as yet unknown rays. He called them X-rays, where X was a designation for something unknown.
On this day, in the late afternoon hours, German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen experimented with a variety of electronic devices, including some of Tesla’s, by putting them under electrical discharge and observing the rays they produce. In one of the experiments in a darkened room, he noticed a glimmer of barium platinocyanide. He concluded that this shimmering was caused by some as yet unknown rays.
He called them X-rays, where X was a designation for something unknown. When he placed various items in the range of these rays, he saw a picture of his skeleton on a barium platinocyanide screen. After that, he continued his research in secret because he was afraid that he might be ridiculed if his observations do not prove to be true. After two weeks, he made a picture of his wife’s hand, on which bones and rings can be seen. The rays were named Röntgen rays after him, although he always preferred the term X-rays.
