Who discovered X-rays in 1895, reportedly by using his wife's hand?

Who discovered X-rays in 1895, reportedly by using his wife's hand?

• A. Wilhelm Roentgen
• B. Werner Forssman
• C. Mason Sones
• D. Melvin Judkins

Answer: (A)

The event tests the origin of X-ray imaging. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, was experimenting with a Crookes tube in 1895 when he noticed a fluorescent screen glow even with the tube blocked from direct light. He realized unseen rays were passing through matter and could create images on a photographic plate. To demonstrate, he took a radiograph of his wife Anna Bertha Ludwig’s hand, which clearly showed the bones and her wedding ring. This iconic image confirmed the existence of X-rays and launched the field of radiology. The other names are important in later developments of imaging techniques, but they were not the discoverers of X-rays.

The event tests the origin of X-ray imaging. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, was experimenting with a Crookes tube in 1895 when he noticed a fluorescent screen glow even with the tube blocked from direct light. He realized unseen rays were passing through matter and could create images on a photographic plate. To demonstrate, he took a radiograph of his wife Anna Bertha Ludwig’s hand, which clearly showed the bones and her wedding ring. This iconic image confirmed the existence of X-rays and launched the field of radiology. The other names are important in later developments of imaging techniques, but they were not the discoverers of X-rays.