From X-ray to radiography
Diagram of an X-ray tube, wikipedia domain image source Author: Rsael
X-rays type of electromagnetic radiation, we should know that X-rays, as simple as electromagnetic radiation of the same nature as radio waves, also microwave waves, infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays and gamma rays, the important thing is that I hate gamma rays. Nuclear radiation produced by the de-excitation of a nucleon from an excited level to a lower energy level and by the decay of radioactive isotopes.
X-rays these rays unknown in the form of this, since they arise from extra-nuclear phenomena, at the level of the electronic orbit, fundamentally produced by electron deceleration, so this type of ray is among ultraviolet radiation, which is also considered an ionizing radiation because when interacting with matter produces the ionization of the atoms of the same, where these ions have charge.
At one point in history shows us how William Crookes, who investigated the effects of certain gases in the nineteenth century by applying energy discharges to them, where his experiment applied it to an empty tube, and electrodes to generate high voltage currents. Then we met the German Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen who discovered X-rays in 1895, while experimenting with Hittorff-Crookes tubes and Ruhmkorff coil, to investigate the violet fluorescence produced by cathode rays, this experiment concluded that this type of rays created a very penetrating radiation, which at the same time was invisible, but not everything ends here, but also found that this has the peculiarity of passing through large thicknesses of paper and even thin metals, decided to do another experiment again, where he applied as simple as photographic plates to demonstrate that objects were more or less transparent to X-rays depending on their thickness, thanks to this I could make the first human radiography, which would change another way of seeing in the field of medicine did it by the hand of his wife.
For in the field of physics only an accelerated charge emits electromagnetic radiation, where friend happens the following a shock produces a continuous spectrum of X-rays, in which a certain minimum wavelength depends on the energy of electrons, for the case.
X-ray tubes are used in laboratories and hospitals, which can be of two types: tubes with filament or tubes with gas.
Did you know that only an X-ray is a quick and painless test that generates images of the internal structures of the body, especially the bones, thanks to the fact that X-rays pass through the body and are absorbed in different amounts depending on the density of the material they pass through, where dense materials, such as bone and metal, appear white on X-rays, for deeper studies a kind of contrast such as iodine is used.
It is this era we live in today is the digital era, where medicine has a lot of support, a more everyday example includes nuclear medicine, computed tomography, digital subtraction angiography, some ultrasound scans and by then the new MRI technique. Previously, radiology images came from conventional film, over time the technology evolved where analog to digital converters began to be incorporated.
□ Bibliographic reference □
Essential Radiology
By Spanish Society of Medical Radiology, 2010