X-ray

X-radiation (composed of X-rays ) is a form of electromagnetic radiation . X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers , corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×10 16 Hz to 3×10 19 Hz) and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV . They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma rays . In many languages, X-radiation is called Röntgen radiation , after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen , who is usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation. Correct spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language includes the variants x-ray(s) and X ray(s). XRAY is used as the phonetic pronunciation for the letter x. X-rays from about 0.12 to 12 keV (10 to 0.10 nm wavelength) are classified as soft X-rays, and from about 12 to 120 keV (0.10 to 0.01 nm wavelength) as hard X-rays, due to their penetrating abilities. Hard X-rays can penetrate solid objects, and their most common use is to take images of the inside of objects in diagnostic radiography and crystallography . As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to a radiographic image produced using this method, in addition to the method itself. By contrast, soft X-rays hardly penetrate matter at all; the attenuation length of 600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer. The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays has changed in recent decades. Originally, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by X-ray tubes had a longer wavelength than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei (gamma rays). Older literature distinguished between X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10 −11 m, defined as gamma rays. However, as shorter wavelength continuous spectrum X-ray sources such as linear accelerators and longer wavelength gamma ray emitters were discovered, the wavelength bands largely overlapped. The two types of radiation are now usually distinguished by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus .

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