Röntgen

ROENTGEN Konrad-Wilhelm (Konrad "Wilhelm Röntgen; 1845-1923), famous German physicist, a student of Kundt. For a long time he was a professor of physics at the University of Munich. His research related to the physics of gases, liquids and crystals and to the field of electrooptics. R. was considered one of the best experimental physicists in Germany, and many of his measurements, for example the compressibility of liquids, have not been surpassed to this day. He measured, using a method proposed by himself, the absorption of infrared rays by gases, the compressibility, surface tension and internal friction of liquids (this work took him about 10 years); R. devoted much energy to the phenomena of piezoelectricity (see) in quartz crystals. He discovered that a dielectric moving in an electric field creates a magnetic field around itself (so-called Röntgen current).-R. achieved world fame through his discovery of rays with a short wavelength that possess enormous penetrating power. R. called and called these rays X-rays his entire life, but soon after their discovery they received the generally accepted name of Röntgen rays or X-rays. Although cathode ray tubes had existed before R.'s discovery for about 40 years, none of the physicists had noticed X-rays, and only great powers of observation and experimental talent allowed R. not only to discover a new type of rays, but also within just one year to exhaustively describe all the most important properties of these rays; hundreds of works by other physicists performed after 1897 essentially added nothing substantial to R.'s data. R. always published his research only when it was completely finished and all conclusions were proven; after his death, many works remained that he did not consider possible to publish due to the unclear nature of certain details. R. is, according to W. Ostwald's classification, a classic scientist. In 1901, R. was the first physicist to receive the Nobel Prize.