In Würzburg, Germany, Wilhelm Röntgen accidentally discovered X-rays on November 8, 1895, while experimenting with cathode rays. He noticed that a fluorescent screen across the room was glowing, even though the tube was shielded. He had discovered a new form of radiation that could pass through solid objects, which he called 'X-rays.' Röntgen's discovery was an accidental breakthrough that revolutionized medicine and physics, and he was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Röntgen's discovery of X-rays has had a profound impact on poetry and literature, symbolizing the invisible forces that science reveals. The idea of seeing through the human body has been explored in poetry as a metaphor for insight and the limits of perception. X-rays have also been the subject of poems that explore the relationship between the seen and the unseen, the surface and the depths. The accidental nature of the discovery has also made it a powerful symbol of serendipity in science, a theme that has been taken up by poets.