The Fascinating History of X-rays: Discovery, Development, and Risks

2023-06-14 03:04:12

X-rays were discovered by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen November 8, 1895, and by accident. Leaving the laboratory in the evening, he noticed a greenish glow in the dark room. It turned out that barium platinum-cyanide crystals gave such a reaction to an electric vacuum tube. The scientist called them X-rays, and in Russia they were called X-rays. Roentgen began to study this phenomenon: the rays penetrated paper and glass, and when the scientist’s hand appeared on their way, he saw his bones on the screen!

According to legend, the wife of Wilhelm Roentgen, when she saw a picture of her hand with a ring, exclaimed: “I see my death!” ran out of the lab and never went back in.

Radiology began to develop rapidly: ten years later, the Italian radiologist Alessandro Vallebona developed the principle of layered X-ray examination, in the 1920s, the French doctor Andre Bocage invented a tomographic mechanical scanner, and in 1934, the Russian scientist V.I. Feoktistov designed the first X-ray tomograph.

In 1969, the British engineer-physicist Godfrey Hounsfield introduced the world to his “EMI-scanner” – the first computerized X-ray tomograph. At the beginning of the 20th century, people were very interested in this technology. There were even “machines” that allowed everyone to see the bones of their hands. But it turned out that X-rays are not harmless: burns and ulcers were formed from them, hair fell out.

Over time, designers around the world began to invent X-ray machines, and soon doctors might not only diagnose bone fractures, but also study the structural features of the stomach, the location of ulcers and tumors.

1686734916
#ultrasound #anesthesia #antibiotics #invented #interesting #facts #history #medicine