Vignette 43: X-ray tube innovations in medical imaging

The University holds a significant place in the history of X-ray technology, owing much of its early success to the collaborative efforts of Sir William Henry Bragg OM KBE FRS (1862–1942) and Arthur Rogers (c.1860–1939). 

Bragg became the University’s Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics in 1886. He worked closely with Rogers, a skilled workshop technician, who became an invaluable collaborator under Bragg’s leadership. In 1896, they took the first X-ray image in South Australia, which was also the first time an X-ray had been taken for medical 
purposes in Australia.

Bragg left the University in 1908 but continued to contribute to physics. He and his son, Sir Lawrence Bragg, developed X-ray crystallography, a ground-breaking science analysing crystal structures through X-ray diffraction. They jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915.

The University’s creation of the X-ray tube is intertwined with Bragg and Rogers professional stories, and for future scientific exploration and technological innovation in this field.

The University of Adelaide: 150 Years of Making History.  Nurturing excellence. p.65