Question

Who discovered X-rays?
(A). Roentgen
(B). Marie Curie
(C). Rutherford
(D). All

Answer 1

Hint: X-rays are a type of radiation called electromagnetic waves. Their discovery was done by a scientist in late 1985, while he was performing an experiment on cathode rays. The name X-rays originates from the fact that these rays were unknown at the time of experiment.

Complete step-by-step solution -
An X-radiation is a penetrating form of high energy electromagnetic radiation. They usually have a wavelength ranging from \[10\text{ picometres}\] to \[\text{10 nanometres}\] and corresponding frequencies in the range of $30\text{ petahertz}$ to $30\text{ exahertz}$, that is, $3\times {{10}^{15}}Hz$ to $3\times {{10}^{18}}Hz$. The energy of X-rays lies in the range $124eV$ to $124KeV$.
In 1985, Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays accidentally while doing an experiment on cathode rays. In his experiment, he was testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass. The cathode tube was completely covered in heavy black paper. He was surprised when an incandescent green light nevertheless escaped from the tube and projected onto a nearby fluorescent screen. Through experimentation, Roentgen found that the mysterious light could pass through most substances but leave shadows of solid objects. Because he did not know the name of those rays, he called them X-rays, meaning unknown rays.
Properties of X-rays:
They have a shorter wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum.
X-rays travel in a straight line and do not carry any electric charge with them.
It requires high voltage to produce X-rays.
X-rays are capable of travelling in vacuum.
X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen.
Hence, the correct option is A.

Additional information:
An X-ray, also known as radiography, is a medical imaging technique. It uses very small amounts of electromagnetic radiation to create images of structures inside the body that can be viewed on film or digitally. X-rays are often done to view bones and teeth, making them useful for diagnosing breaks, fractures, and diseases such as arthritis. X-rays are also done for other body parts such as inside the chest, including the lens, heart, and breasts, and in the abdomen to evaluate the digestive tract. Areas where there is nothing to stop the beam of radiation, such as air, or even fracture, will appear black compared to surrounding tissue.
X-rays have much shorter wavelength than visible light, which makes it possible to probe structures much smaller than can be seen using a normal microscope. This property is used in X-ray microscopy to acquire high resolution images.

Note: Discovery of X-rays was done accidentally by Wilhelm Roentgen while doing an experiment on cathode rays. Later on it was discovered that X-rays can pass straight through soft materials such as plastic and leather but are blocked by the dense materials such as metals and bones. X-rays can also travel through vacuum.