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A History of X-Rays
For more than 100 years, the use of X-rays has developed along two separate paths. In diagnostic
medicine their use has been restricted to the imaging of transmitted X-rays. In contrast X-ray diffraction,
based on the scattering of X-rays, is the method of choice for studying atomic and molecular structure.
Indeed, medical imaging employs techniques to eliminate the scattered radiation that diffraction physicists
try to detect! In order to explain why there is still enormous scope for improving the diagnostic quality of X-
rays more than 100 years after their discovery it is informative to take a look at the history.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-Rays in 1895. He was

awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1901, a mere 6 years after
his discovery "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has
rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently
named after him".

Röntgen's discovery unleashed an enormous amount of work on the

new mystery rays.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923)

On the right are two radiographs of a

hand. These images are separated in time
and technology by 100 years. The most
remarkable thing about these images is
that they are not so very different. The
modern one is sharper and displays some
rather poor soft tissue contrast.
Nevertheless the improvement is rather
poor for 100 years development.
Remember that it was only 66 years from
the first powered flight in 1903 to landing
a man on the moon in 1969!

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Bertha Röntgen’s Hand 8 Nov,

A modern radiograph of a hand
1895

Plane Radiography

Radiographs like the ones above are simply

shadowgrams. They are formed simply
because the X-rays either pass straight
through or are stopped by the object. The
diagram on the left illustrates the principle and
shows a perfect shadow.

In reality, things are not like this. A large fraction of the X-

rays are not simply absorbed or transmitted by the object
but are scattered. The diagram on the right illustrates this
effect and illustrates the fuzzy edge of the object that is

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produced in the image by the scattered X-rays. The

scatter is due to a number of effects.

X-Ray Diffraction
The first kind of scatter process to be
recognised was discovered by Max von
Laue who was awarded the Nobel prize
for physics in 1914 "for his discovery of
the diffraction of X-rays by crystals". His
collaborators Walter Friedrich and Paul
Knipping took the picture on the right in
1912. It shows how a beam of X-rays is
scattered into a characteristic pattern by a
crystal. In this case it is copper sulphate.

Max von Laue (1897-1960)

Bragg's Law

The very next year 1915, the father and son team of Sir William
Henry and William Lawrence Bragg were awarded the Nobel prize
for physics "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by
means of Xrays". These gentlemen were responsible for the famous
Bragg Law which describes the mechanism by which X-ray
diffraction occurs and is illustrated in the following diagram.

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Sir William Henry William Lawrence

Bragg (1862- Bragg (1890-1971)
1942)

Bragg's law was an extremely important discovery and formed the basis for the whole of what is now
known as crystallography. This technique is one of the most widely used structural analysis techniques
and plays a major role in fields as diverse as structural biology and materials science. Nevertheless the
effect has been ignored in the application of X-rays to medical imaging.
The most important effect in
medical radiography, the
The Photoelectric Effect photoelectric effect, was not
understood until somewhat after
the understanding of X-ray
diffraction. Albert Einstein was
awarded the Noble prize for
physics in 1921 "for his services
to Theoretical Physics, and
especially for his discovery of
the law of the photoelectric
effect". It is photoelectric
absorption that is responsible
for most of the absorption in a
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) mammogram that creates the
contrast in the image.

The Compton Effect

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Another important effect was discovered

by Arthur Holly Compton who was
awarded the Nobel prize for physics in
1927 "for his discovery of the effect
named after him".

The Compton effect is considered to be

responsible for the bulk of scattering
effects in radiography.
Arthur Holly Compton (1892 - 1962)

The importance of these various processes and how they are helping us improve the use of X-rays for medical
research is discussed in X-ray Processes.

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