X-Ray Waves
What are they?
I'm sure everyone has gotten an x-ray at some point in their life. Whether it be a broken bone, or that marble you swallowed when you were three years old. X-rays have much higher energy and much shorter wavelengths than ultraviolet light, and scientists usually refer to x-rays in terms of their energy rather than their wavelength. This is partially because x-rays have very small wavelengths, between 0.03 and 3 nanometers, so small that some x-rays are no bigger than a single atom of many elements.
How They're Made
X-rays are very high frequency waves, and carry a lot of energy. They will pass through most substances, and this makes them useful in medicine and industry to see inside things. X-rays are given off by stars, and strongly by some types of nebula. An X-ray machine works by firing a beam of electrons at a "target". If we fire the electrons with enough energy, X-rays will be produced.
Uses
X-rays are used by doctors to see inside people. The machines are managed by a trained x-ray technician. They pass easily through soft tissues, but not so easily through bones. We send a beam of X-Rays through the patient and onto a piece of film, which goes dark where X-Rays hit it. This leaves white patches on the film where the bones were in the way. X-Rays are also used in airport security checks, to see inside your luggage. They are also used by astronomers - many objects in the universe emit X-rays, which we can detect using suitable radio telescopes. Lower energy X-Rays don't pass through tissues as easily, and can be used to scan soft areas such as the brain.
Dangers
X-Rays can cause cell damage and cancers. This is why Radiographers in hospitals stand behind a shield when they X-ray their patients. Although the dose is not enough to put the patient at risk, they take many images each day and could quickly build up a dangerous dose themselves.
Future Possibilities
Future possibilities for x-rays include making them in color and improving them so that the bones in the body do not get in the way of what is trying to be viewed. Also, there is hope to make x-rays safer, so that too many won't harm the body.
I'm sure everyone has gotten an x-ray at some point in their life. Whether it be a broken bone, or that marble you swallowed when you were three years old. X-rays have much higher energy and much shorter wavelengths than ultraviolet light, and scientists usually refer to x-rays in terms of their energy rather than their wavelength. This is partially because x-rays have very small wavelengths, between 0.03 and 3 nanometers, so small that some x-rays are no bigger than a single atom of many elements.
How They're Made
X-rays are very high frequency waves, and carry a lot of energy. They will pass through most substances, and this makes them useful in medicine and industry to see inside things. X-rays are given off by stars, and strongly by some types of nebula. An X-ray machine works by firing a beam of electrons at a "target". If we fire the electrons with enough energy, X-rays will be produced.
Uses
X-rays are used by doctors to see inside people. The machines are managed by a trained x-ray technician. They pass easily through soft tissues, but not so easily through bones. We send a beam of X-Rays through the patient and onto a piece of film, which goes dark where X-Rays hit it. This leaves white patches on the film where the bones were in the way. X-Rays are also used in airport security checks, to see inside your luggage. They are also used by astronomers - many objects in the universe emit X-rays, which we can detect using suitable radio telescopes. Lower energy X-Rays don't pass through tissues as easily, and can be used to scan soft areas such as the brain.
Dangers
X-Rays can cause cell damage and cancers. This is why Radiographers in hospitals stand behind a shield when they X-ray their patients. Although the dose is not enough to put the patient at risk, they take many images each day and could quickly build up a dangerous dose themselves.
Future Possibilities
Future possibilities for x-rays include making them in color and improving them so that the bones in the body do not get in the way of what is trying to be viewed. Also, there is hope to make x-rays safer, so that too many won't harm the body.