How do x-rays work?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 1
-
Electrons that accelerate or decelerate produce electromagnetic radiation. The more acceleration/deceleration, the more energetic the radiation. In an X-Ray machine, electrons are accelerated using high voltages, (similar to the way a CRT monitor works). The electrons are then suddenly violently decelerated by smashing them into a metal target. The massive deceleration produces very energetic X-Rays which can pass through easily through human tissue, but not very well through bone. The X-Rays darken ordinary film the same way that light does, to make a photographic negative. The dark parts of the X-ray correspond to the bright x-ray source. The bones cast shadows which, on a negative, look white.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC