X-rays - Great discovery of the 19th century

Probably not many of us have ever had to take X-ray films. Today this technique is widely used in the field of health and industries. In addition to the common name, X-rays are also known as X-rays, after the name of the discoverer.

How is X-rays detected?

X-rays have been used for a long time to detect problems in bones, teeth and internal organs in human bodies, as well as technical defects in industries, or even for baggage testing. at the airport. Although there are many such applications, detection of X-rays is just an accident. The scientific and medical community of the world will be indebted to the accidental discovery of the German physicist, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (in Vietnam, often referred to as Longchen) on November 8, 1895.

German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923)

While conducting experiments with electricity flowing through glass cathode ray tubes, Röntgen discovered a piece of barium platinocyanide (BaPt (CN) 4) that glows even though the cathode has been wrapped with hardcover and located at the other end of the room. He hypothesized that there must be some kind of radiation shining across the room. Röntgen then did not fully understand his findings, so he named the ray X - ray - an unanswered unknown of nature.

To test his new hypothesis, Röntgen asked his wife to model the first X-ray photograph - a picture of her hand bone and wedding ring, which was later known as the first röntgenogram . He discovered that when placed in complete darkness, X-rays would pass through objects of different material densities, thereby completely reconstructing muscles and fibers on the hands of his wife. Thicker bones and rings will leave dark shadows on a special film covered with barium platinocyanide . Since then the name of the X-ray is associated with this new type of ray, although it is sometimes called the Röntgen ray in German-speaking countries (and in Vietnam).

Röntgen's discovery attracted much attention from the scientific community and public opinion. In January 1896, he conducted his first public lecture on X-rays, and demonstrated the ability to capture joints behind the fibers of this beam. A few weeks later in Canada, an X-ray beam was used to find a bullet caught in a patient's leg.

The prestigious awards came to Röntgen soon after. Medals, honors, streets named after him . The pinnacle of the world recognition for him was the Nobel Prize in physics in 1901. Röntgen still decided not to patent for his discovery, because he feels that scientific advances belong to all humanity and should not be used for profit-making purposes.