10/28/2025
This is the hand of an X-ray technician from the Royal London Hospital, photographed around 1900. It shows the damage caused by repeated exposure to radiation. Back then, technicians would check and calibrate their machines each morning by taking an X-ray of their own hands.
You might wonder—why not use something like a piece of meat or even a chicken leg instead? The truth is, in 1900, the risks of radiation exposure weren’t yet understood. People believed it was harmless. In fact, X-ray machines were so new and fascinating that some people even built them at home for fun. Unfortunately, many of those early hobbyists later suffered severe health consequences, including cancer and amputations.
X-rays had only been discovered a few years earlier, in 1895, by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German engineer and physicist. He named them “X-rays” because he didn’t know exactly what they were—so he used “X” to represent the unknown. In some European countries, they’re still referred to as “Röntgen rays” in his honor.
Röntgen never patented his invention, believing it should be freely available for the good of humanity. In recognition of his groundbreaking discovery, he was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. See less
