Early Days of X-rays

Paper Summary:

This paper looks into the period of when X-rays and radium were discovered and how they were hailed as miracles. Widely using radioactive substances for presumed "curative" effects and to produce a range of products, pioneers into these fields eventually reaped the deadly effects of radiation. It discusses how many researchers, patients, and consumers died of radiation poisoning during these early decades.

From the Paper:

"Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was a relatively unknown professor and research at the University of Wurzburg until one fateful day in 1895. It was on November 8th of that year, while working with a variant of Crookes' shrouded cathode ray tubes, he "saw the shadows of the bones of his hand when held between the tube and a fluorescent screen." (Hausfeld, 1993, 1) Within months he had published his research and a radiograph of his wife's hand. He suggested usage in medical diagnoses, but the world of science would take his discovery much, much further. Within 30 years, hundreds if not thousands of people would be dead from radiation research, "treatments," and commercial use. These early pioneers and victims of X-ray technology would discover first hand precisely what it did to living cell structures."

More papers on Early Days of X-rays:

• Term Paper # 145477 : "Evolution of Radiation Protection"
• Persuasive Essay # 120709 : "Airport X-Rays"
• Term Paper # 120930 : "Airport X-Rays"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: