A serendipitous discovery is a discovery that was discovered accidentally. An important discovery was due to Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (Roentgen), a German mechanical engineer and physicist, born on March 27, 1845. Wilhelm Röntgen was 40 years old and a professor of physics at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg when he discovered X-rays by chance . The German physicist was preparing to begin an experiment with cathode rays, bright beams of electrons that pass through a vacuum tube when electricity is applied. In his dark laboratory, he covered the tube with black cardboard, but suddenly at that moment he noticed a shine of light on the screen across the room. At one point, he held up a small lead disk and saw a terrifying shadow (the shape of the disk itself) on the screen along with the skeletal outline of the bones in his hand. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Seeing this strange reaction, he had discovered a new form of electromagnetic radiation, but he didn't know what it was, so he simply called it "X". His scientific achievement was to recognize that he had found something new and to continue studying it. Röntgen did not leave his laboratory for the next six weeks as he furthered his knowledge and research into this chance discovery. He remained there, working, even though his apartment was on the floor above the laboratory. A few days after the accidental discovery, the German mechanical engineer and physicist managed to make the first X-ray image of a part of the human body, namely his wife's hand. Six years later, he received the first Nobel Prize in physics. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The discovery of X-rays radically improved clinical diagnostics. It was routinely used during the First World War. It has been used to diagnose bone damage and bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis. Nowadays, X-ray technology is not only used to diagnose diseases, but is also used during operations, such as during tumor removal, to monitor the location of medical supplies. In fact, X-ray technology is widely used in everyday life, for example in industrial environments and in airport security checks. To summarize, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen accidentally discovered one of the most important and useful tools in the world, the X-ray.