Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS

Röntgen’s hunting rifle

Jagdgewehr von Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
© Fraunhofer IIS
X-rays yesterday and today: on the left is an X-ray image of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen’s hunting rifle taken in 1896. On the right is a recent image taken at the Fraunhofer IIS Development Center X-ray Technology EZRT.

First X-ray

1896

Original owner

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

 

Privately owned by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.
In addition to his wife Bertha’s hand, Röntgen’s hunting rifle was one of the first subjects to be recorded for posterity as an X-ray image in 1896 with the aid of photographic plates.

In 2015, a full 120 years later, researchers at Fraunhofer EZRT repeated the X-ray examinations, this time with cutting-edge technology: industrial 3D computed tomography.

Röntgenaufnahmen eines Jagdgewehrs aus dem Besitz von Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.
© Fraunhofer IIS
The hunting rifle comes from the private collection of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and was one of the first X-ray images in 1895.
© Fraunhofer IIS
© Fraunhofer IIS