Hand of Rontgen's wife
In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, professor of physics, University of Wurburg in Germany, was doing experiments with electrical discharges in evacuated glass tubes.
Late in 1895, Wilhelm Rontegen was alone at night doing his experiments, this time in the dark and noticed a glow was produced on the wall, which he knew was not caused by fluorescence or visible light. He named these new, unidentified rays 'X' or if you prefer; X-rays.
After several months of playing with his discovery he noticed that the objects placed in the path of rays cast shadows and created images on the wall. Soon after, he used a photographic plate and had his wife, Frau Rontgen, place her hand in the path of the X-rays, creating the world’s first X-ray picture.
In 1901, Wilhelm Rontgen was awarded the very first Nobel Prize for this discovery.
