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X-Ray

X-rays (sometimes called Rontgen radiation) are electromagnetic radiation beyond the infrared range, with a wavelength of 10 to 0.1 nanometers or less, or frequencies ranging from 30 to 3000 PHz (1015 hertz). X-ray photons are generated by energetic electron processes. Because X-rays are ionizing radiation, they can be very dangerous and exposure should be limited. Functionally, X-rays are most often used in diagnostic medical imaging or in crystallography, to identify elements and crystal structure.

X-rays down to 0.1 nm are soft x-rays; shorter wavelengths are called hard x-rays and overlap gamma radiation wavelengths (generated by atomic nuclei transitions, unlike electron-generated x-rays).

Medically, x-rays are most useful in detecting problems with the skeletal system, but are also used in other disease processes such as lung disease, abdominal problems like intestinal blockage and free air and fluids. Fluoroscopy and angioplasty are other methods that often depend on x-rays. Some high-powered x-rays are used in radiotherapy as well, a medical intervention used to kill cancer cells in very targeted areas.

X-rays are also useful in astronomy, where violent processes that create x-rays can be observed to give astronomers clues about how stars are destroyed by black holes, galactic collisions, novas, and supernovas.

Web Resources On X-Ray

The Electromagnetic Spectrum: X-Rays
On A New Kind of Rays

Book Resources On X-Ray

Understanding X-Rays: A Plain English Approach by Mikel A. Rothenberg
Elements of X-Ray Diffraction by B.D. Cullity et al.

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