CHAPTER 13: Röntgen Rays Revolutionize Physics and Lead to the Inner Atom: (Germany II)

Wilhelm Röntgen's discovery of X-rays rapidly led to our present understanding of the internal structure of the atom. Röntgen quickly realized that his unexpected and bewildering experimental result had made him the only person in the world who knew about these rays that could penetrate both common objects and human flesh. His announcement caused a sensation that was followed in breathtaking fashion by applications to medicine, thousands of serious scientific articles, and quirky, misinformed laws and products. We briefly describe the appealing relationship between Röntgen and his wife Bertha, how they met, married and came to Würzburg, how they dealt with his breathtaking discovery, and Bertha's reaction when she saw the X-ray photograph of her hand and wedding ring. We go over the details of the experiment Röntgen was carrying out and how he followed through on it so that when we visit the Deutsches Röntgen Birthplace and Museum in Lennup, the Röntgen-Memorial in Würzburg, and then his and Bertha's grave in the Alter Friedhoff cemetery in Giessen we will fully appreciate what we are seeing. Finally, we describe an added place that all scientific-historical travelers should see if at all possible, the Justus-Liebig-Museum in Giessen.