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Understanding X-Rays: Discovery, Properties, and Uses

X-rays were discovered by Roentgen in 1895 when he found cathode rays produced fluorescence. X-rays are highly penetrative and affect photographic plates but not charged particles. They are produced when electrons from a heated filament target are accelerated toward an anode, then the document discusses advantages like low cost and identifying fractures and disadvantages like not showing 3D and potential for cancer from radiation.

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Akshada NaikGaonkar
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6 views7 pages

Understanding X-Rays: Discovery, Properties, and Uses

X-rays were discovered by Roentgen in 1895 when he found cathode rays produced fluorescence. X-rays are highly penetrative and affect photographic plates but not charged particles. They are produced when electrons from a heated filament target are accelerated toward an anode, then the document discusses advantages like low cost and identifying fractures and disadvantages like not showing 3D and potential for cancer from radiation.

Uploaded by

Akshada NaikGaonkar
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

X-RAYS

Discovery of X-Rays
•X-rays were discovered by Roentgen in 1895. He found
that the operation of a cathode-ray tube produced
fluorescence in a platinum-barium-cyanide screen
placed at some distance from the tube. The source of
the rays causing this fluorescence was traced to the
walls of the cathode-ray tube. In further experiments he
found that the interposition of various thicknesses of
different substances between the screen and the tube
reduced the intensity of the fluorescence but did not
obliterate it completely.
Properties of X-Rays
•X-Rays are highly penetrable
•They ionise the gas through which they are passing
•They produce fluorescence when incident on a fluorescent
material
•They affect a photographic plate
•The x-rays, or Roentgen rays, travel in straight lines from the
source
•They are not deflected by electric or magnetic field
•Thus, they are not charged particles.
Production of X-Rays

The Coolidge type of x-ray tube is a thermionic tube in which the


cathode is a tungsten filament. When the filament is heated to
incandescence by means of a current supplied either by a storage
battery or by a step-down transformer, electrons are emitted by the
filament. These electrons are accelerated to the target by a
difference of potential maintained between them. The filament is
placed inside a metallic cup in order to focus the electrons onto the
target which then becomes the source of x-rays.
Advantages of X-Rays
1. Its is a cheaper and simple technique.
2. It has lower radiation compare to CT scan.
3. X-Rays are not absorbed very much by air, hence specimen need
not be in an evacuated chamber.
4. It helps to diagnose tumours easily without the need of surgery.
5. They are widely used to identify cracks in bones.
Disadvantages of X-Rays
1. X-Rays do not provide 3-D information.
2. Bones can block significant diagnostic data as it
absorbs the radiation.
3. They do not interact very strongly with lighter
elements.
4. Due its radiation, it mutates the cell which causes
ionisation,often leading to cancer.
Thank
you

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