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by wickedwillie on December 24th, 2004

wickedwillie

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Where does the term "X-ray" come from?

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  • by Jeremiah Britt on December 29th, 2004

    Jeremiah Britt

    Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), professor of physics and the director of the Physical Institute of the University of Wurburg was experimenting with cathode ray tubing when he accidentally discovered x-rays, so named by him because he was unsure of their nature (in math, x is often an unknown variable).

    In other words, it's similar to naming them "I don't know what-rays."

    For details: http://www.lixi.com/xray_history.htm

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