ABSTRACT
In 1885, Dr Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, Professor of Physics of the University of Wurzburg, chanced upon the discovery of x-rays. This tremendous discovery, which has literally changed the practice of medicine and surgery, came about after a series of dedicated experiments investigating the origin of spontaneous fluorescence of a barium platinocyanide coated screen that was in close proximity to an energised cathode ray tube. After 50 days of unrelenting research, Dr Roentgen was able to demonstrate that these newly discovered rays (now called X-rays) had the ability to penetrate material such as paper, wood, fabric and a number of metals.
