Excerpt from Rontgen Rays: Memoirs by Röntgen, Stokes, and J. J. Thomson

The new kind of radiation known as X-rays, or Rontgen rays, from the name of their discoverer, were first observed and studied by Professor W. C. Rontgen, of the University of Würzburg, in 1895, and the announcement of their discovery was made in a paper which appeared that year, and which is reprinted in this volume. As was noticed later these radiations had been previously detected and some of their properties noted by other observers, notably Professor Lenard, but it is to Rontgen that we owe the first systematic study of the methods of production and of the remarkable properties of these rays. Nearly all the general properties, both positive and negative, were investigated by Rontgen and carefully stated. These results are contained in the first three pages of this volume.

The most important experiments, however, and those which have led to the most important conclusions, were made by Professor J. J. Thomson, of Cambridge. They proved the fact that a dielectric traversed by these radiations became a conductor, or, in other words, was ionized. This discovery in the hands of Professor Thomson and his students has led to a series of most interesting and important researches, all bearing upon the intimate connection between matter and electricity.

Many hypotheses have been advanced to account for the peculiar properties of the X-rays.

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