Let us start understanding this concept by going back to history and knowing who discovered it and how he did it! Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen was the first person who discovered the existence of X-rays in 1895. He did it while investigating the electron beams (later called cathode rays) in the electric charges by passing them through the gases possessing low pressure. He demonstrated that the radiation responsible for the fluorescence originated from a point where the electron beam struck the glass wall of the discharge tube. This particular phenomenon he proved by producing a photograph of a human hand. This went on to become one of the most important discoveries in the history of humankind.

What are X-Rays?

When the X-rays interact with matter, they possess enough energy to make the neutral atoms eject electrons, resulting in ionising radiation. Through Ionisation, the X-rays energy gets deposited in the matter.

In the electromagnetic spectrum, they are situated in between the gamma and ultraviolet rays.

When these rays pass through the living tissues, it causes strong and harmful biochemical reactions in the cell components, chromosomes, and genes. The ionising radiation causes biological effects, which are highly complex and entirely dependent upon the exposure’s length and intensity.

How are X-rays produced?

X-rays are produced when the cathode rays tend to strike on heavy metal with a very high melting point, then what happens is a tiny fraction of the energy produced gets converted into a new wave. These are called X-rays.

Fundamental Properties

• In the electromagnetic spectrum, they tend to have a shorter wavelength.
• X-rays require high voltage for their production
• The human skeleton faults can be detected using X-rays
• X-rays can travel through the vacuum
• X-rays are said to be produced from a coolidge tube
• The elements having higher melting points and large atomic numbers are suitable targets. Molybdenum and tungsten are two of the best-suited targets
• The energy of the photons of X-rays is expressed through the equation E = hv = hc/ λ
• The emitted X-rays tend to have a wavelength, which is given by λ=hc/eV

In this equation, h = Planck’s constant

c = speed of light

e = electronic charge

V = potential difference

Diffraction of X-rays

The X-rays are said to be diffracted through the crystals and they follow Bragg’s law.

According to this law, 

2dsinθ =nλ

Here in the equation, n=1,2,3,….,

d= spacing of the crystal planes

θ= angle of diffraction 

X-rays spectrum

The spectrum of energy of the X-rays is said to be a line spectrum, and they consist of the following series:

• K – series: This kind of series is obtained when the electrons which possess high orbits (n=2,3,4,…) tend to jump into the first orbit (n=1)
• L – series: This kind of series is obtained when the electrons which possess high orbits (n=3,4,5,…) tend to jump into the second orbit (n=2)
• M – series: This kind of series is obtained when the electrons which possess high orbits (n=4,5,6,…) tend to jump into the third orbit (n=3)

 Kα, Lα, Mα these are the first lines of the series.

 Kβ, Lβ, Mβ  these are the second lines of the series.

Moseley’s law

This law is used to obtain the frequency of an X-ray,

V = a (Z – b)2

In this above equation, a and b are the constants

Z= Atomic number of the element

Various types of X-rays

The field of medical science has a lot of different types of X-Rays and below is the list of a few important ones

• Lungs X-rays
• Kidney, bladder, and ureter X-rays
• Standard computed Tomography
• Abdomen X-rays
• Chest X-rays
• Bone X-ray
• Joint X-ray
• Dental X-ray

Waveform characteristics

Just like every waveform that exists, even X-rays have a wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and velocity.

As discussed earlier, X-rays belong to electromagnetic radiation, and their velocity inside the vacuum is similar to that of visible light, which is 300,000 kilometres/sec.

Frequency

The X-ray frequency can be determined by dividing its velocity by wavelength

Frequency = Velocity/Wavelength

Amplitude

The X-ray amplitude is equivalent to that of its intensity or brightness. X-rays can even burn skin, just like sunlight can sometimes cause burns.

Conclusion 

X-rays are produced when the cathode rays tend to strike on heavy metal with a very high melting point, then what happens is a tiny fraction of the energy produced gets converted into a new wave. These are called X-rays. They have a very short wavelength. They are produced only through high voltage and can travel through a vacuum. There are various X-rays, including joint X-rays, bone X-rays, Lung X-rays, etc. They tend to exhibit waveform characteristics which means they have velocity, amplitude, wavelength, and frequency. Moseley’s law gives the frequency. They have various lines of spectrums as well.