Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 32 minutes ago
Nikola Tesla produced the first x-ray image in the United States when he attempted to obtain an image of Mark Twain with the vacuum tube. Surprisingly, instead of showing Twain, the resulting image showed the screw for adjusting the camera lens . Later, Tesla managed to obtain images of the human body, which he called shadowgraphs . Tesla sent his images to Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Shortly after Roentgen published his discovery on November 8, 1895. Although Tesla gave Roentgen full credit for the finding, Roentgen congratulated Tesla on his sophisticated images, wondering how he had achieved such impressive results. Moreover, Tesla described some clinical benefits of x-rays — for example, determination of foreign body position and detection of lung diseases — noting that denser bodies were more opaque to the rays.
Nikola Tesla produced the first x-ray image in the United States when he attempted to obtain an image of Mark Twain with the vacuum tube. Surprisingly, instead of showing Twain, the resulting image showed the screw for adjusting the camera lens . Later, Tesla managed to obtain images of the human body, which he called shadowgraphs . Tesla sent his images to Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Shortly after Roentgen published his discovery on November 8, 1895. Although Tesla gave Roentgen full credit for the finding, Roentgen congratulated Tesla on his sophisticated images, wondering how he had achieved such impressive results. Moreover, Tesla described some clinical benefits of x-rays — for example, determination of foreign body position and detection of lung diseases — noting that denser bodies were more opaque to the rays.
