When was the first X-ray invented?

Abstract. W.C. Röntgen reported the discovery of X-rays in December 1895 after seven weeks of assiduous work during which he had studied the properties of this new type of radiation able to go through screens of notable thickness. He named them X-rays to underline the fact that their nature was unknown.

But not so long ago, a broken bone, a tumor, or a swallowed object could not be found without cutting a person open. Wilhelm Roentgen, Professor of Physics in Wurzburg, Bavaria, discovered X-rays in 1895—accidentally—while testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass .17 Eyl 2015

In 1897, X-rays were first used on a military battlefield, during the Balkan War, to find bullets and broken bones inside patients . Scientists were quick to realize the benefits of X-rays, but slower to comprehend the harmful effects of radiation.

The technology behind the X-ray machine, a foundation of modern medicine, was “accidentally” discovered nearly 120 years ago this week on November 8, 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen .