{"id":25157,"date":"2019-09-22T07:52:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T07:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/?page_id=25157"},"modified":"2023-06-13T08:02:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T08:02:45","slug":"x-rays-roentgen-radiation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/nuclear-power\/reactor-physics\/atomic-nuclear-physics\/radiation\/x-rays-roentgen-radiation\/","title":{"rendered":"X-Rays – Roentgen Radiation"},"content":{"rendered":"
X-rays<\/strong>, also known as X-radiation<\/strong>, refer to electromagnetic radiation (no rest mass, no charge) of high energies. X-rays are high-energy photons<\/a> with short wavelengths and thus very high frequency. The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is not so simple and has changed in recent decades. According to the currently valid definition, X-rays are emitted by electrons<\/strong> outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus<\/strong>.<\/div><\/div>\n

X-rays<\/strong>, also known as X-radiation<\/strong>, refer to electromagnetic radiation (no rest mass, no charge) of high energies. X-rays are high-energy photons<\/a> with short wavelengths and thus very high frequency. The radiation frequency is the key parameter of all photons because it determines the energy of a photon. Photons are categorized according to their energies, from low-energy radio waves and infrared radiation, through visible light, to high-energy X-rays and gamma rays<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"NASA<\/a>
Source: Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum www.nasa.gov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers (3\u00d71016<\/sup> Hz to 3\u00d71019<\/sup> Hz), corresponding to energies from 100 eV to 100 keV. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays. The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is not so simple and has changed in recent decades. According to the currently valid definition, X-rays are emitted by electrons<\/strong> outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Since the X-rays (especially hard X-rays) are in substance high-energy photons, they are very penetrating matter and are thus biologically hazardous. X-rays can travel thousands of feet in the air and easily pass through the human body.<\/p>\n

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Discovery of X-Rays – Wilhelm Conrad R\u00f6ntgen<\/h2>\n
\"X-ray<\/a>
Hand mit Ringen (Hand with Rings): print of Wilhelm R\u00f6ntgen\u2019s first \u201cmedical\u201d X-ray of his wife\u2019s hand, taken on 22 December 1895 and presented to Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institut, University of Freiburg, on 1 January 1896
Source: wikipedia.org License: Public Domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

X-rays<\/strong> were discovered on November 8, 1895, by German physics professor Wilhelm Conrad R\u00f6ntgen<\/strong> at the University of W\u00fcrtzburg in Germany. He studied electric discharges in glass tubes filled with various gases at very low pressures. In these experiments, R\u00f6ntgen had covered the tube with some black paper and hand darkened the room. He then discovered that a piece of paper painted with a fluorescent dye would glow when he turned on the high voltage between the electrodes in the tube at some distance from the tube. He realized that he had produced a previously unknown \u201cinvisible light,\u201d or ray, that was being emitted from the tube and a ray capable of passing through the heavy paper covering the tube. R\u00f6ntgen referred to the radiation as \u201cX\u201d to indicate that it was an unknown type of radiation.<\/p>\n

Realizing the importance of his discovery, R\u00f6ntgen focused all his attention on studying this new radiation that had the unusual property of passing through black paper. Through additional experiments, he also found that the new ray would pass through most substances casting shadows on solid objects such as blocks of wood, books, and even his hand. He found that X-rays propagate in straight lines from which they are deflected neither by electric nor magnetic fields. The first x-ray image was a picture of his wife\u2019s hand on a photographic plate formed due to X-rays. His discovery spread quickly throughout the world, and Wilhelm Conrad R\u00f6ntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.<\/p>\n

Characteristics of X-rays<\/h2>\n

Key features of X-rays<\/strong> are summarized in the following few points:<\/p>\n