Modern Physics

Lecture
X-Rays
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Figure: The electromagnetic spectrum.

The boundaries between regions are
arbitrary, since no sharp upper or lower
limits can be assigned.
Frequency and Wavelength for Different Types
of Radiation
 Discovery of X-Rays
q Wilhelm Röntgen, Professor of Physics in Germany, accidentally discovered
X-rays in 1895, while testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass.
q His cathode tube was covered in heavy black paper, so he was surprised
when an incandescent green light nevertheless escaped and projected onto a
nearby fluorescent screen.

q Through experimentation, he found that the mysterious light would pass

through most substances but leave shadows of solid objects. Because he did
not know what the rays were, he called them ‘X,’meaning ‘unknown,’rays.

q Röntgen quickly found that X-rays would pass through human tissue too, rendering the bones and tissue beneath
visible.

q News of his discovery spread worldwide, and within a year, doctors in Europe and the United States were using X-
rays to locate gun shots, bone fractures, kidney stones and swallowed objects.

q Honors for his work he was awarded the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901.
 Properties of X-Rays

Ø The x-rays travel in straight lines.

Ø It is unaffected by electric and magnetic fields.

Ø It passes readily through opaque materials.

Ø It causes phosphorescent substances to glow, and to expose photographic plates.

Ø The faster the original electrons, the more penetrating the resulting x-rays.

Ø The greater the number of electrons, the greater the intensity of the x-ray beam.
 X-rays Production & Construction of X-ray Tube
Construction of the x-ray tube
The x-ray tube contains two principal elements:
1. Filament (also acts as cathode): boils off
electrons by thermionic emission
2. Target (also acts as anode): electrons strike to
produce x-rays
3. Tube housing
4. Rotor
5. Induction stator
6. Tube window: usually made from beryllium, not
glass
 Working Principle
Ø X-rays are produced when any electrically charged particle of sufficient kinetic energy rapidly decelerates.

Ø Electrons are usually used for this purpose; the radiation being produced in an x-ray tube which contains a source of
electrons and two metal electrodes.
Ø The high voltage maintained across these electrodes, some tens of thousands of volts, rapidly draws the electrons to
the anode, or target, which they strike with very high velocity.

Ø X-rays are produced at the point of impact and radiate in all directions.

Ø If e is the charge on the electron (𝟏. 𝟔𝟎 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟗 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒔) and 𝑽 the voltage across the electrodes, then the
kinetic energy (in joules) of the electrons on impact is given by the equation
𝟏
𝑲. 𝑬 = 𝒆𝑽 = 𝒎𝒗𝟐
𝟐
Ø Where m is the mass of the electron (𝟗. 𝟏𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑𝟏 𝒌𝒈) and 𝒗 its velocity (in m/sec) just before impact.

Ø At a tube voltage of 𝟑𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔, this velocity is about one-third that of light.

Ø Most of the kinetic energy of the electrons striking the target is converted into heat, less than 1 percent being
transformed into x-rays.
 Types of X-rays
When the target of an X-ray tube is struck by energetic electrons, two
kinds of X-ray radiation are emitted by the target.

1. Continuous X-ray Spectrum

2. Characteristic X-ray Spectra
 Continuous X-ray Spectrum
When an electron interacts with the strong electric field of the atomic nucleus
and is consequently deaccelerated, the electron radiates electromagnetic energy
(Photons). An energetic electron passing through matter will radiate photons
and lose kinetic energy.

Continuous X-rays are produced when any electrically charged particle of

sufficient kinetic energy rapidly decelerates. The continuous spectrum results
from the rapid deceleration of the electrons hitting the target since any
decelerated charge emits energy.

These radiation are named Bremsstrahlung, (German for “braking radiation”), because it is caused by declaration of
electron.
Continuous radiation is also known as white radiation, as it is made up, of rays of many wavelengths, like white
light.
 Continuous X-ray Spectrum
The energy of the bremsstrahlung is determined by the
change in the Kinetic energy of the electron.

𝐸𝐾.𝐸𝑖 = 𝐸𝐾.𝐸𝑓 + 𝐸𝑥−𝑟𝑎𝑦

𝐸𝑥−𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑀𝐴𝑋 = 𝐸𝐾.𝐸𝑖

All initial Kinetic energy is converted to x-ray energy.

Kinetic Energy = eV
Kinetic Energy is proportional to applied voltage.
 Characteristic X-ray Spectra
Under normal conditions all the inner shells of an atom are filled, so x-
ray transitions do not occur between these levels.
However, when we remove one of the inner electrons, such as by
ejecting a K-shell electron with the collision of incident electron an
electron from a higher sub shell will rapidly make a transition to fill
that vacancy, emitting an x-ray photon in the process.

The energy of the photon is equal to the energy difference of the initial
and final atomic levels of the electron that makes the transition.

𝐸𝑓 − 𝐸𝑖 = ℎ𝑓
Where 𝐸𝑓 is the energy of the higher shell and 𝐸𝑖 is the energy of the lower shell. Their difference is
emitted in the form of x-ray quanta of energy ℎ𝑓.
 Characteristic X-ray Spectra
Ø When we remove a 1s electron, we are creating a vacancy in the K-shell.
The x-rays that are emitted in the process of filling this vacancy are known
as K-shell x-rays, or simply K x-rays.

Ø (These x-rays are emitted in transitions that come from the L, M, N, . . .

shells, but they are known by the vacancy that they fill, not by the shell from
which they originate.)

Ø The K x-ray that originates with the transition from 𝒏 = 𝟐 shell (L-shell)
to 𝒏 = 𝟏 (K-shell) is known as the 𝑲 𝑎 x-ray, and the K x-rays originating
from the M-shell are known as 𝑲𝖰 x-rays.

Ø If the bombarding electrons or photons knock loose an electron from the

L- shell, electrons from higher levels will drop down to fill this vacancy.
The photons emitted in these transitions are known as L x-rays. The
lowest-energy x-ray of the L-series is known as 𝑳 𝑎, and the other L x-
rays are labeled in order of increasing energy as shown in Figure.
 Characteristic X-ray Spectra

Because all elements in periodic table have unique energy

levels so these rays are called Characteristic x-rays.
 Types of X-rays

X-Rays

Continuous Characteristics
X-Rays X-Rays

Deceleration Inner shell

of electrons transition
 X-Rays vs Photoelectric Effect
In the photoelectric effect, a photon gives up all its energy to an electron, which may then
escape from the material in which it was bound.
Can the inverse process occur? Can an electron (or any charged particle) give up its energy
and create a photon? The answer is yes, and it occurred in case of electron removal from
an atom and the emission of energy photon.