Radiology would not be complete without mentioning rays. It's our ability to harness these Ray's and translate them into images that makes the field of radiology viable. X Ray machines in particular are used in identifying, diagnosing and treating a vast array of diseases.
The mechanism for X-rays differ, but they all have the same principle. The person credited for discovering X-rays is the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen who discovered it by accident. While messing around with an electron beams in a tube, Wilhelm observed that a fluorescent screen began to glow when the electron beam was active. Wilhelm put many barriers between the electron beam and the florescent screen, but each time the screen lit up. In a final attempt to stop electromagnetic radiation exposure Wilhelm uses his hand and a silhouette of his bones were projected on the screen. We know this is possible because X-rays have higher energy and shorter wavelengths in comparison to normal visible light. Because of these unique properties X-Ray's can penetrate through most biological tissues, but because the human bones are denser than tissue, a shadow is left to be observed.
…show more content…
They are accelerated at a high voltage towards the direction of the anode, which is positively charged relative to the cathode. This process happens inside a high vacuum, if this wasn't the case the electrons would hit air molecules, causing them to lose energy before the reach the anode. The high energy electrons hit the anode and energy is released. Some of this energy is released as X-rays, but most of the energy is converted to heat. This leaves the question if the process is efficient. The anode is protected from potentially melting by continuous rotation. By doing this, the hot spot is given time to cool down before it reaches the same spot again. This essentially prevents the anode from