What are X-Rays and how are they produced?
X-Rays are high energy photons with energies of approximately 100 eV to 100 keV (0.01 to 10 nm wavelengths). X-Rays are produced when atoms are heated to very high temperatures, usually millions of Kelvins. At these high temperatures, free electrons are moving around very fast. If one of these electrons happens to be accelerated due to the presence of other atoms, then the electron will shed its kinetic energy in the form of bremsstrahlung radiation. These bremsstrahlung emissions occur in the X-Ray band of the spectrum. X-Rays can also be produced by “K-shell emission” where an incoming electron knocks a tightly bound electron from a low energy orbital. This then causes another electron in the victim atom to fall into the newly formed hole. If the energy of the electron that falls into this vacancy is just right, an X-Ray can be produced. These two processes are outlined at the NDT Resource center website. How can X-Rays be used for astronomy? X-Rays can be used just like any other fo
