The X-ray machine was voted the most significant scientific invention , in a poll by the Science Museum in England . Out of almost 50,000 votes cast , five in one people selected it as the object they believed it had the greatest impact on the past , present and future . 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 . X-rays were followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure . The public vote began on today as part of the Science Museum events to mark its centenary .
The X-ray machine was voted the most significant scientific invention , in a poll by the Science Museum in England . Out of almost 50,000 votes cast , five in one 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 today as part of the Science Museum events to mark its centenary .