As with many of mankind's monumental
discoveries, X-ray technology
was invented completely
by accident. In
1895, a German physicist named Wilhelm Roentgen
made the discovery
while
experimenting with electron beams in a gas discharge tube.
Roentgen noticed that a fluorescent screen in his lab
started to glow
when the electron beam was turned on. This response in itself wasn't so
surprising -- fluorescent material normally
glows in reaction to
electromagnetic radiation -- but Roentgen's tube was surrounded by
heavy black cardboard. Roentgen assumed this would have blocked
most of
the radiation.
Roentgen placed various objects
between the tube and the screen, and
the screen still glowed. Finally, he
put his hand in front of the tube,
and
saw the silhouette of his bones projected onto the fluorescent
screen. Immediately after
discovering X-rays themselves, he had
discovered their most beneficial application.
Roentgen's remarkable discovery precipitated one of the most important
medical advancements in human history. X-ray technology
lets doctors
see straight
through human tissue to examine broken bones, cavities and
swallowed objects with extraordinary ease. Modified X-ray procedures
can
be used to examine softer tissue,
such as the lungs, blood vessels
or the intestines.
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