Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen: A Shining Life for Science

It was one of the great moments of humanity when Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845– 1923) discovered a new kind of radiation on 8 November 1895. He himself modestly called them “X-rays”. Röntgen’s name and his rays became world famous. On 10 December 1901, Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics. X-rays have lost none of their appeal since then. They still permeate all areas of science, technology and medicine and accompany us in our everyday lives.

However, Röntgen’s scientific work ...