A-Z Challenge X is for.......

X-Rays

How do X-Rays work?

X-Rays were discovered by accident back in the late 1800's when a German scientist (not called Dr X-Ray) was using electron beams in a tube which was covered by cardboard and noticed a fluorescent screen next to it glow after the electron beam passed through his insulated tube, therefore the radiation was capable of passing through materials. He already knew that fluorescent screens would glow when exposed to radiation but in this case the special tube he was using was surrounded by thick cardboard so he realised the radiation was passing through it. He began placing different objects between this insulated tube and the fluorescent screen to see what happened. When he placed his hand in front of it he saw a silhouette of his hand and his bones. This German scientist (Wilheim Roentgen) had made one of the most important discoveries in medical history - imaging and the examination of bones, allowing doctors to see if any bones were broken. The letter X was designated as this new type of radiation was unknown and there was no name for it, so it became known as X.

X-rays are beams of light, more specifically highly energetic electromagnetic waves of radiation which we can not see. In our body soft tissue can not absorb the high energy rays so it passes straight through it like the skin and muscle, whereas the dense material in our body such as bone which is made of calcium absorb the radiation. When the X-rays hit the film, they are exposed to light in exactly the same way a photograph is. The black areas on the film are the exposed areas and show the parts of the body the X-rays can pass through while the white areas show the parts of the body which have absorbed the radiation such as the bone.

The X-Ray machine is essentially a camera with the patient placed between the camera and a piece of film and a photograph taken. This is now viewed on computers rather than the big pieces of films they use to use.

So there you have it, you now know how an X-Ray works!