Did you know that x rays were discovered by accident? German scientist, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen first found them in 1895 when experimenting with vacuum tubes. He named them "X" in order to show that it was an unknown type of radiation and the name stuck. X rays have frequencies ranging from 3*10^16Hz to 3*10^19Hz and wavelengths from 10^-11m to 10^-8m which is smaller than a single atom. The picture to the right is the first x ray ever taken (from NASA.) It is of Mrs. Roentgen's hand, the bulge on her ring finger is that of her wedding ring. Due to the thickness of Earth's atmosphere, we are not able to x ray astronomy from the ground. Because of this we have to place x ray telescopes and detectors on our satellites!
X rays can also affect matter. They possess intrinsic energy that is sometimes transferred to the matter they interact with. This transfer is made either through absorption or scattering.
How do medical x rays work? X rays penetrate more easily through some materials than others. For example, they penetrate easily through skin but not through bone. Therefore, when x rays are taken of us, the skin appears to be transparent leaving the bones behind. These x rays are produced by colliding high-energy electrons into a metal target. Two other sources that can produce x rays are active galactic nuclei (AGN) and x ray binaries. Medical x rays do expose people to radiation although the benefits far outweigh the risks. So next time you get an x ray remember that it was one of the biggest technological advances in the medical community. (The picture on the left is an x ray of the sun taken by NASA.)
15 comments:
I like your story about the way x-rays were named! When x-rays are taken of the sun what do you see in the photo, because planets and stars don't really have bones, do they?
Sammy,
Great intro and pictures. Do medical X-rays have any harmful effects? I have had so many and I was wondering if there are any side effects. Good blog.
I also enjoyed that you included the origin of the x-ray. The photograph of the first x-ray is really cool. Like Megan, I think it would be interesting to investigate the effects of human x-rays.
I enjoyed learning the history of the X ray, i never would have guessed one of the greatest discoveries in science was an accident. The information was put to good use and i learned a lot about X rays except if they have harmful effects on people.
It was interesting to learn about the origins of this wonderful technology and that it was by accident. I never really understood what an X-ray was until reading this article. Good explanation.
Along with the information, the pictures were really good on this blog. The pictures showed that we have come along way in science, being able to now take an x-ray of the sun!
I agree with everyone else that the orgin of X-rays was an interesting "tidbit" and made for a good intro. I have also wondered what qualities bone has that flesh doesn't that allow it to reflect the X-rays. You thoroughly answered my question and I thought it was a good blog.
If you've ever had a X-ray taken, you may notice that they make you wear a lead blanket around your waste. I know this prevents adverse side-effects, but I don't know specifically which.
Great job this blog was packed with information and the way you organized this blog it worked very well I enjoyed the photographs and you made x rays very interesting. Good job!
I too found the origin of x-rays to be fascinating. You do a great job outlining the benefits of x-rays however, I am curious as to what the risks are. Your use of a hyperlink for active galactic nuclei was splendid and very informative.
You did a nice job presenting information that interests people and makes them want to read more. I as well liked learning about the history of the X-ray and thought your pictures did a wonderful job displaying visually what you wrote about.
this was a very informative blog and i liked how fluid it was
Well written with good flow. I found the reason as to why X-rays came to be interesting as well. All together, an nice entry.
Your introduction was really interesting and pulled the reader in. It provided facts about X-rays, but didn't immediately dive in too deep. You had great transitions, and it was well organized; puls, the information was great.
An overall great blog Sammy. I really enjoyed how you made the effort to include how x-rays got their names and I think that the blog provided a good background for x-rays.
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