London , England ( CNN ) -- The X-ray machine was Wednesday named the most important scientific invention , in a poll marking the centenary of the Science Museum in London . Almost 50,000 people voted in the museum or online on a shortlist of ten discoveries and inventions from past centuries in science , technology and engineering . The X-ray machine , which was discovered in 1895 and revolutionized how doctors detected disease and injury , struck a chord with most voters who singled it out for having made the greatest impact on the past , present and future . It gathered one fifth of the votes ( 9581 votes ) followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure . Katie Maggs , associate curator of medicine at the Science Museum , told CNN that she was `` pleasantly surprised '' with the results , saying she `` wondered whether the therapeutic benefit of penicillin might just edge in front -- or perhaps the Apollo 10 capsule as visitors find space travel so inspirational as the ultimate test of technology . '' Maggs attributed the X-ray machine 's popularity to the wide impact it has on people 's everyday life , from the very first steps of a medical diagnosis to security control at airports . `` People are just fascinated with seeing inside their bodies -- - even today . It has fundamentally changed the way we see and understand our world -- but particularly our bodies . `` But I also think visitors are aware of the immense and various benefits x-rays have brought -- revolutionizing medical diagnosis and therapy but also astronomy and material and chemical science -- it was x-rays that enabled us to discover the structure of DNA after all ! '' X-rays were discovered in November 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen . The Science Museum also houses the Reynolds machine , which was built by a father and son John and Russell Reynolds , months after Röntgen announced his discovery . They were so inspired by the news that they started constructing the equipment in their own home .
The X-ray machine was voted the most significant scientific invention , in a poll by the Science Museum in London . Out of almost 50,000 votes cast , one in five people selected it as the object they believed it had the greatest impact on the past , present and future . X-rays were followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure . The public vote began on 10 June this year as part of the Science Museum 's events to mark its centenary .