You must have had an X-ray scan if you ever broke a bone or for some other medical problems. Even if you never have an X-ray scan yourself, you would have seen someone you know who had an X-ray scan.
Why do we use these rays called X? How did we come to know about their existence? We shall try to answer these questions in the coming segments?
The discovery of X-rays
German physicist, Wilhelm Roentgen, Professor of Physics in Wurzburg, was testing whether cathode rays (streams of electrons) could pass through glass or not. To do so, he covered the tube with heavy black paper. But what he observed improved medical sciences that still influence us.
He observed that an incandescent green light was emitted and projected on a nearby fluorescent screen. After several experiments, he found that the mysterious rays would pass through almost anything but would leave shadows of solid objects. Since he didn't know the nature of the rays, so he called them X, the variable mostly used in mathematics for the unknown. The name stuck and it is called so even now.
Use in medical science
We use X-rays in medicine because Roentgen soon found out that X-rays could pass through human tissues as well. Only bones and tissues beneath would be visible. And, as soon as the news of his discovery of these mysterious rays spread throughout the world, the doctors started using it to locate fractures, gunshots, stones in kidneys, and swallowed objects.
But as time progressed, side-effects of X-rays came to light and safer methods like MRI and CT scan were invented. But, X-ray is still used widely but with several protocols to prevent unnecessary exposures.
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