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X-ray

This article is about the type of radiation. For the medical specialty, see Radiology. For other uses, see X-ray (disambiguation).
Natural color X-ray photogram of a wine scene. Note the edges of hollow cylinders as compared to the solid candle.
William Coolidge explains medical imaging and X-rays.

An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 nanometers to 10 picometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range of 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz) and photon energies in the range of 100 eV to 100 keV, respectively.[1]

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen,[2] who named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation.[3]

X-rays can penetrate many solid substances such as construction materials and living tissue,[4] so X-ray radiography is widely used in medical diagnostics (e.g., checking for broken bones) and material science (e.g., identification of some chemical elements and detecting weak points in construction materials).[5] However X-rays are ionizing radiation and exposure can be hazardous to health, causing DNA damage, cancer and, at higher intensities, burns and radiation sickness. Their generation and use is strictly controlled by public health authorities.

  1. ^ "Figure 7.1, Wavelengths and frequencies of the different groups of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays lie in the range of 0.01 nm up to 10 nm - Medical Imaging Systems - NCBI Bookshelf". ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ "X-Rays". Science Mission Directorate. NASA.
  3. ^ Novelline, Robert (1997). Squire's Fundamentals of Radiology. Harvard University Press. 5th edition. ISBN 0-674-83339-2.
  4. ^ Dental Assistants' Association of Australia (2005). The Manual of Dental Assisting. Elsevier Australia. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-7295-3737-7.
  5. ^ Caldwell, Wallace E.; Merrill, Edward H. (1964). History of the World. Vol. 1. United States: The Greystone Press. p. 394.

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