Episode 020 · Out Nov 8, 2026
Why X-rays are called X
8 November 1895, Würzburg: Wilhelm Röntgen's tube was wrapped in black card – yet a screen across the room started to glow. He called the mystery rays "X". Weeks later he X-rayed his wife's hand, the world went X-ray crazy, and he refused a patent. Colleagues wanted to call them "Röntgen rays". He objected.
Sources
Every claim in the video was checked against these sources. Where they disagree, the video words it carefully; legends are marked as legends.
In short: W. C. Röntgen, "On a New Kind of Rays" (1895, English translation); University of Würzburg archive; Wikipedia "X-ray" and "Wilhelm Röntgen" (incl. Otto Glasser's 1896 estimate); Photonics.com (1896 underwear ad, as reported).
- Wikipedia: X-ray en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: Wilhelm Röntgen en.wikipedia.org
- Wilhelm conrad roentgen uni-wuerzburg.de
- Le Moyne / Giunta web.lemoyne.edu
- Photonics.com photonics.com
- DotMed dotmed.com
- PMC-Artikel pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Wikipedia: Gaudeamus igitur en.wikipedia.org
- abcnotation abcnotation.com
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