Rays X - History, Mechanisms For X-ray Production, Measuring X-ray Wavelengths, Detection Of X Rays
matter shorter light electromagnetic
X rays are electromagnetic waves with wavelengths covering a fairly broad range from about 3 × 10-8 ft (10-8 m) to 3 × 10-11 ft (10-11 m). There is no sharp boundary between x rays and ultraviolet light on the long wavelength side of this range. Similarly, on the short wavelength side, x rays blend into that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum called gamma rays which have even shorter wavelengths. X rays have wavelengths much shorter than visible light, which occurs between 1.2 × 10-6 and 2.1 × 10-6 ft (4 × 10-7 and 7 × 10-7 m), and they also behave quite differently. They are invisible, are able to penetrate substantial thicknesses of matter, and can ionize matter. Since the time of their discovery in 1895 they have been an extremely important tool in the physical and biological sciences and the fields of medicine and engineering.
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X rays were discovered in Germany in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen (1845-1923) quite by accident while he was studying the conduction of electricity through gases at low pressure. The discovery was made when these mysterious "X" rays were observed to light up a fluorescent screen a few meters from the source. Roentgen soon found that these rays were quite penetrating and was actually able…
The intensity of x rays from an x-ray tube varies with wavelength. A diagram of the wavelength spectrum from an x-ray tube shows several sharp peaks superimposed on what appears to be a continuous distribution. The peaks and the continuous region are produced by two quite different mechanisms. The continuous spectrum is produced by the incident electrons as they strike and enter the metal target. …
Development of the x-ray tube greatly speeded up the detailed study of x rays, the origin and nature of which had finally been discovered by 1912, with the help of the suggestion by the German scientist Max von Laue (1879-1960) that x rays could be diffracted by three-dimensional crystals and thus must be electromagnetic radiation similar to visible light. This new approach was necessary because t…
The uses of x rays in the fields of medicine and dentistry have been extremely important. X-ray photographs utilize the fact that portions of the body such as bones and teeth with higher density are less transparent to x rays than other parts of the human body. X rays are widely used for diagnostic purposes in these fields. Examples might include the observation of the broken bones and torn ligame…
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User Comments
2 months ago
Complete information is there but how did this prodused and clarity diagrams are not there.