Accident and Professor Röntgen

Though his own paper is wonderfully clear, the circumstances under which Röntgen discovered x-rays are completely obscure. Contemporary accounts are few, uninforming, and unreliable. It is certain that Röntgen was working with Lenard rays in the summer of 1894, but he seems to have made little use of Lenard's special equipment when working with x-rays in the autumn of 1895. Röntgen's discovery amounts to more, however, than the observation of the rays; it includes also his thorough exploration of their properties.