The discovery of X-rays Roentgen was already an established scientist with forty-eight published papers. He had a reputation in the scientific community as a dedicated scientist with precise experimental methods. Roentgen had conducted experiments at the University of Würzburg on the effects of cathode rays on the luminescence of certain chemical substances. Roentgen had placed a cathode ray tube, which is a partially evacuated glass tube with metal electrodes at each end, in a black cardboard box in his dark laboratory. He sent electricity through the cathode ray tube and noticed something strange in his laboratory. He saw a flash of light coming from a sheet of paper coated with barium platinum cyanide that he had unknowingly left on a table at the other end of the laboratory. Roentgen knew that cathode rays could not penetrate the black box and that they only traveled short distances. He then deduced that another form of radiation emitted by the cathode ray tube was causing the luminescence. Roentgen called this new, unknown radiation X-rays. X is the mathematical symbol for an unknown object. Roentgen knew that to get credit for his discovery he would have to publish his findings before anyone else. He spent the next seven weeks alone in his laboratory thoroughly examining the specific nature of this new and very powerful radiation. He worked diligently these seven weeks. He ate in the laboratory and slept there too. During this time, he discovered that this new type of radiation had several specific properties. He discovered that X-rays were completely invisible, traveled in straight lines, could neither be reflected nor refracted, and were not available… mid-paper… of the second scientific evolution. This placed Roentgen on par with Galilio whose discoveries led to the first scientific revolution. Due to his refusal to patent his X-rays, technology, and the hypoinflation of the German economy, Röntgen lived his life in poverty. He died in 1923 of intestinal cancer, most likely caused by his prolonged unprotected exposure to X-rays which we now know causes cancer. Works Cited Travers, Bridget, ed. The world of scientific discoveries. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994."X-Rays." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. 1996 ed. “Travel in the Nuclear Age” http://www.em:doe.gov/timeline/pre40shtml. 8/22/95, 3/10/98,4:06."Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen-Discovered X-rays."http://www.fhuerzbnrg.de/roentgen/index_e.html.9/24/1996, 3 /10/98,4:00"X-rays."http://www.fishpond.demon.uo.uk/emspectrum/xray.html,3 /10/98.4:15