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X-Radiation (Composed of X-Rays) Is A Form of Electromagnetic Radiation. X-Rays

X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than visible light. They were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen, who named them X-rays to signify an unknown type of radiation. X-rays are classified as either soft or hard based on their ability to penetrate objects, with hard X-rays able to pass through solid objects and used to image interior structures. The units used to measure X-ray exposure and its effects on living tissue include roentgen, gray, sievert, and rem. While medical X-rays account for a significant portion of human-made radiation, they represent only about 10% of the total radiation exposure for most people.

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77 views4 pages

X-Radiation (Composed of X-Rays) Is A Form of Electromagnetic Radiation. X-Rays

X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than visible light. They were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen, who named them X-rays to signify an unknown type of radiation. X-rays are classified as either soft or hard based on their ability to penetrate objects, with hard X-rays able to pass through solid objects and used to image interior structures. The units used to measure X-ray exposure and its effects on living tissue include roentgen, gray, sievert, and rem. While medical X-rays account for a significant portion of human-made radiation, they represent only about 10% of the total radiation exposure for most people.

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Aadityavmishra
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Introduction

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (31016 Hz to 31019 Hz) and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is called Rntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen, who is usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation. Correct spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language includes the variants x-ray(s) and X ray(s). XRAY is used as the phonetic pronunciation for the letter x. X-rays from about 0.12 to 12 keV (10 to 0.10 nm wavelength) are classified as "soft" X-rays, and from about 12 to 120 keV (0.10 to 0.01 nm wavelength) as "hard" X-rays, due to their penetrating abilities. Hard X-rays can penetrate solid objects, and their most common use is to take images of the inside of objects in diagnostic radiography and crystallography. As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to a radiographic image produced using this method, in addition to the method itself. By contrast, soft Xrays hardly penetrate matter at all; the attenuation length of 600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer. The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays has changed in recent decades. Originally, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by X-ray tubes had a longer wavelength than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei (gamma rays). Older literature distinguished between X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 1011 m, defined as gamma rays. However, as shorter wavelength continuous spectrum "X-ray" sources such as linear accelerators and longer wavelength "gamma ray" emitters were discovered, the wavelength bands largely overlapped. The two types of radiation are now usually distinguished by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus

Units of measure and exposure


As electromagnetic radiation, X-rays follow the following laws:

as a wave, the wavelength where f is the frequency of the radiation and v is its phase velocity (in a vacuum, c, the speed of light, 3108 metres per second); as a particle, the energy of a photon is E = hf, where f is the frequency and h is Planck's constant, 4.13561015 in units of electron-volt seconds;

combined, ; The measure of X-rays ionizing ability is called the exposure: The coulomb per kilogram (C/kg) is the SI unit of ionizing radiation exposure, and it is the amount of radiation required to create one coulomb of charge of each polarity in one kilogram of matter. The roentgen (R) is an obsolete traditional unit of exposure, which represented the amount of radiation required to create one electrostatic unit of charge of each polarity in one cubic centimeter of dry air. 1.00 roentgen = 2.58104 C/kg However, the effect of ionizing radiation on matter (especially living tissue) is more closely related to the amount of energy deposited into them rather than the charge generated. This measure of energy absorbed is called the absorbed dose: The gray (Gy), which has units of (joules/kilogram), is the SI unit of absorbed dose, and it is the amount of radiation required to deposit one joule of energy in one kilogram of any kind of matter. The rad is the (obsolete) corresponding traditional unit, equal to 10 millijoules of energy deposited per kilogram. 100 rad = 1.00 gray. The equivalent dose is the measure of the biological effect of radiation on human tissue. For X-rays it is equal to the absorbed dose. The sievert (Sv) is the SI unit of equivalent dose, which for X-rays is numerically equal to the gray (Gy). The Roentgen equivalent man (rem) is the traditional unit of equivalent dose. For X-rays it is equal to the rad or 10 millijoules of energy deposited per kilogram. 1.00 Sv = 100 rem. Medical X-rays are a significant source of man-made radiation exposure, accounting for 58% in the United States in 1987, but since most radiation exposure is natural (82%), medical X-rays only account for 10% of total American radiation exposure.

Reported dosage due to dental X-rays seems to vary significantly. Depending on the source, a typical dental X-ray of a human results in an exposure of perhaps, 3,40, or as many as 900 mrems (30 to 9,000 Sv).

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