Who discovered x-rays and in what year?

Who discovered x-rays and in what year?

• A. Wilhelm Röntgen, 1895
• B. Marie Curie, 1903
• C. Nikola Tesla, 1897
• D. Thomas Edison, 1889

Answer: (A)

The main idea this question tests is who first identified X-rays and when that happened. Wilhelm Röntgen made the discovery in 1895. While experimenting with a cathode-ray tube, he noticed a fluorescent screen glow through a barrier, revealing a new kind of ray that could pass through soft tissues and expose photographic film. He called them X-rays and soon produced the first radiographs, including a famous image of a hand, proving they could reveal internal structures. This groundbreaking finding revolutionized medical imaging and earned him the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physics. The other names are associated with related but different discoveries or pursuits—radioactivity, advanced electrical devices, or early X-ray tube work—not the initial discovery of X-rays themselves.

The main idea this question tests is who first identified X-rays and when that happened. Wilhelm Röntgen made the discovery in 1895. While experimenting with a cathode-ray tube, he noticed a fluorescent screen glow through a barrier, revealing a new kind of ray that could pass through soft tissues and expose photographic film. He called them X-rays and soon produced the first radiographs, including a famous image of a hand, proving they could reveal internal structures. This groundbreaking finding revolutionized medical imaging and earned him the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physics. The other names are associated with related but different discoveries or pursuits—radioactivity, advanced electrical devices, or early X-ray tube work—not the initial discovery of X-rays themselves.