Practice mode Reading Comprehension

According to the passage about Wilhelm Rontgen, why did he call the new rays ‘X-rays’?

Read the passage: In November 1895 the German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen was experimenting with electric currents passed through glass tubes containing very little air. Even though the tube was covered in black cardboard, he noticed that a nearby screen coated with a special chemical began to glow. Some invisible rays were clearly passing through the cardboard. Because their nature was unknown, he called them X-rays. Within weeks he had made a famous image showing the bones of his wife's hand and her wedding ring. Doctors quickly realised that the rays could reveal broken bones and objects lodged inside the body. In 1901 Rontgen received the first Nobel Prize ever awarded in physics.

Correct answer B. Because their nature was unknown

Explanation

The passage states that because their nature was unknown, he called them X-rays, using the letter X to stand for something unknown.

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Open question

According to the passage about Wilhelm Rontgen, why did he call the new rays ‘X-rays’?

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