DISCOVERY

OF
X-RAYS
 What are X-Rays ?
 Form of electromagnetic radiation.
 Wavelength ranging from 10-11 m to 10-8 m.
 Frequency of X-rays is higher than the frequency of
ultraviolet light but less than that of a gamma ray.

 Also referred as Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm

Conrad Röntgen, who is usually credited as its
discoverer.
 Extensively used in medicine and industry to produce
images of internal structures.
Early History:
 In 1857, Heinrich Geissler, invented
the first low pressure gas-discharge
tube known as Geissler tube.

 In 1875, Sir William Crookes,

invented Crookes Tube which leads
to the discovery of Cathode rays.

 Philipp Lenard modified Crookes

Tube by adding a window made of
Aluminium foil.
Early History (contd.):

Crooke’s Tube
The discovery:
 On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Conrad
Röntgen was operating a Crookes tube
covered with black cardboard when he
noticed that a nearby fluorescent screen
glowed faintly.
 He realized that some unknown invisible
rays from the tube were able to pass
through the cardboard and make the
screen fluoresce.
 The discovery(cont.):
 He found that this radiation could
penetrate soft tissues but not
bone, and would produce shadow
images on photographic plates.
 Named the new ray as X-ray.
 He took the very first picture using
X-rays of his wife Anna Bertha's
hand.
 For this discovery, Röentgen was
awarded the very first Nobel Prize
in Physics, in 1901.
Early X-ray tube:

 The earliest x-ray tubes were filled with air at low

pressure also known as cold cathode tube.
Coolidge/Vacuum tube :

 Most x-ray tubes in use today are "filled" with

a vacuum.
 This "entirely new variety" of x-ray tube was
invented in 1913 by William Coolidge.
X-ray generation:
 Two types of X-rays are produced by interaction
of the electron beam with the target.
i. Bremsstrahlung X-ray generation:
Produced by slowing
down of the primary
beam electrons by the
electric field surrounding
the nuclei of the atoms
in the target.
X-ray generation (contd.):
ii. Characteristics X-ray generation:
Produced when primary
beam electrons knocked
out an electron close to
the nucleus from its
orbit.
 How X-Rays Changed Society:
 The most important and obvious impact of the x-
ray is its use in medicine. They have become the
most reliable and widely spread tool for diagnosing
internal problems.
 Hard x-rays, which have very high frequency rays,
are used for radiotherapy for cancer patients.
 Scientists have learned much about the structure
of matter by means of X rays.
 X-ray machines have also helped greatly with
security, like the security scanners used to examine
bags at airports.
Thank You…