PRODUCTION AND

PROPERTIES
OF X RAYS
M o d e ra to r
Mr. S.C Bansal
Lecturer Presented by :
Dept of Nidhi Goswami
Radiodiagnosis & M.Sc Student
Imaging (Medical Technology)
PGIMER, Chandigarh- Deptt of Radiodiagnosis, & Imaging
160012 PGIMER, Chandigarh
Date : 20.07.09
 Electro magnetic radiation is the
transport of energy through space
as a combination of electric and
magnetic field
 Electro magnetic radiation is
produced when a charge particle is
acclerated.
 Electric and
magnetic fields
oscillate together
but perpendicular
to each other and
the
electromagnetic
wave moves in a
direction
perpendicular to
both of the fields.
Light, electricity,
and magnetism
are manifestations
Properties of
Electromagnetic Waves
 There are some general properties shared by all
forms of electromagnetic radiation:
 It can travel through empty space. Other types
of waves need some sort of medium to move
through: water waves need liquid water and
sound waves need some gas, liquid, or solid
material to be heard.
 The speed of light is constant in space. All forms
of light have the same speed of 299,800
kilometers/second in space (often abbreviated
as c). From highest energy to lowest energy
the forms of light are Gamma rays, X-rays,
Ultraviolet, Visible, Infrared, Radio.
(Microwaves are high-energy radio waves.)
Wave concept of EM
radiation
 Electromagnetic waves were first postulated by
James Clerk Maxwell and subsequently confirmed by
Heinrich Hertz. Maxwell derived a
wave form of the electric and magnetic equations,
revealing the wave-like nature of electric and magnetic
fields, and their symmetry. Because the speed of EM
waves predicted by the wave equation coincided with
the measured speed of light, Maxwell concluded that
light itself is an EM wave.
 According to Maxwell's equations, a time-varying
electric field generates a magnetic field and vice versa.
Therefore, as an oscillating electric field generates an
oscillating magnetic field, the magnetic field in turn
generates an oscillating electric field, and so on. These
oscillating fields together form an electromagnetic
wave.
Properties of
Electromagnetic Waves
§ Electromagnetic
radiations is
propagated
through space
in the form of
waves.
§ They are
compared to a
waves traveling
down a
strechedrope
when one end is
 Waves of all types
have an
associated
wavelength and
frequency
 The distance
between two
successive
troughs or
crests is called
the wavelength
of the wave
 The number of waves passing through a
particular point is called the frequency
of the wave.
 frequency is usually denoted by a Latin
letter f or by a Greek letter ν (nu).
 In SI units, the unit of frequency is
hertz (Hz), named after the German
physicist Heinrich Hertz.
 For example, 1 Hz means that an event
repeats once per second, 2 Hz is twice
per second, and so on.

 A wave of length lambda pass a
given point in unit time, then the
velocity of the wave is given by:
 velocity = wavelength *
frequency
§ As all em radiation travel with the
speed of light which is constant ,
the frequency of the radiation is
inversely proportional to the
wavelength.
 Einstein's later revealed that
electromagnetic waves carry
quantized energy in the form of
photons, but the wavelike
properties remain in most
circumstances and therefore a
reformulation of Maxwell's
equations are still used today to
describe electromagnetic waves.

  Em radiation consists of small
particles.
 These particles are bundles of
energy called quanta or photon.
 If the frequency is
doubled,theenergy of the photon
is doubled. This relation between
the energy and frequency is



 Theenergy is proportional to the
frequency of vibration, and it
seemed to come in little "chunks"
of the frequency multiplied by a
certain constant. This constant
came to be known as Planck's
constant, or h, and it has the
value h = 6.62×10−34  J·s
EM Wave Equation
  E= hc
 λ
 The product of planks

constant and velocity

of light
 hc=12.4
 so
 E = 12.4
 λ
 Where E=energy (in kev)and
 λ=wavelength (in
 Em radiation sometimes behave as
wave and sometimes as particles
 The particle concept is used to
describe the interactions between
radiation and matter
 The wave concept explains the
phenomenon of reflection
,refraction,diffraction and
polarization.
The Electromagnetic
Spectrum

 The electromagnetic spectrum is
the range of all possible
frequencies of electromagnetic
radiation.The "electromagnetic
spectrum" of an object is the
characteristic distribution of
electromagnetic radiation emitted
or absorbed by that particular
object.

Radio Waves:
 Radio waves have a much longer wavelength
that light waves. The longest waves are
several kilometers in length. The shortest ones
are only millimeters long.


 The electric currents at "radio frequencies" (rf)

are used by radio and television transmitters
and receivers. Used frequencies come in the
range of MHz .
 They are used for
radio
broadcasts,
amateur radio,
television, and
mobile phones.
Different parts
of the radio
spectrum have
been allocated
to the various
services
Microwaves:
 The super high frequency (SHF) and
extremely high frequency (EHF) of microwaves
come next up the frequency scale. Microwaves
are waves which are typically short enough to
employ tubular metal waveguides of
reasonable diameter. Microwave energy is
produced with klystron and magnetron tubes,
and with solid state diodes such as Gunn and
IMPATT devices. Microwaves are absorbed by
molecules that have a dipole moment in
liquids. In a microwave oven, this effect is
used to heat food. Low-intensity microwave
radiation is used in Wi-Fi, although this is at
intensity levels unable to cause thermal
Infra Red
 The infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum covers
the range from roughly 300 GHz (1 mm) to 400 THz
(750 nm). It can be divided into three parts:
 Far-infrared, from 300 GHz (1 mm) to 30 THz (10 μm).
The lower part of this range may also be called
microwaves. This radiation is typically absorbed by so-
called rotational modes in gas-phase molecules, by
molecular motions in liquids. The water in the Earth's
atmosphere absorbs so strongly in this range that it
renders the atmosphere effectively opaque. However,
there are certain wavelength ranges ("windows") within
the opaque range which allow partial transmission, and
can be used for astronomy. The wavelength range from
approximately 200 μm up to a few mm is often referred
to as "sub-millimetre" in astronomy, reserving far
infrared for wavelengths below 200 μm.
 Mid-infrared, from 30 to 120 THz (10 to
2.5 μm). Hot objects (black-body
radiators) can radiate strongly in this
range. It is absorbed by molecular
vibrations, where the different atoms in
a molecule vibrate around their
equilibrium positions. This range is
sometimes called the fingerprint region
since the mid-infrared absorption
spectrum of a compound is very specific
for that compound.
 Near-infrared, from 120 to 400 THz
The Visible Spectrum
 Richard Of York Gave Battle
In Vain. = Red, Orange,
Yellow, Green, Blue,
Indigo, and Violet. are the
colours of the visible
spectrum. We cannot see
Infra-red, but we can feel
it warm our skin when we
sit in the sun. Infra-red
has a longer wavelength
(less energy) than Red
light. We cannot see
Ultra-violet light, but we
feel our skin has been
burnt by the sun if we
were in the sun too long .
It is the Ultra-violet which
is thought to cause skin
cancer. UV light has a
 EMradiation with a wavelength
between 380 nm and 760 nm
(790–400 terahertz) is detected by
the human eye and perceived as
visible light. Other wavelengths,
especially near infrared (longer
than 760 nm) and ultraviolet
(shorter than 380 nm) are also
sometimes referred to as light.
Ultra Violet

 These waves have very high energy

and very short wave lengths;
shorter than visible light. Some
animals like honey bees can see
ultra-violet light.
 Sun is a source of ultraviolet (or UV)
radiation, because it is the UV rays
that cause our skin to burn! Stars
and other "hot" objects in space
emit UV radiation
X-Rays:
 X-Rays have so much
energy and such a
short wavelength
that they can go
right through us.
However, they
cannot get through
bone as easily as
they can get
through muscle
 X-rays are generated
by electronic
transitions
involving highly
 "Gamma ray" is
the name given
to the photons
generated from
nuclear decay
or other nuclear
and
subnuclear/parti
cle processes,
Generally,
nuclear
transitions are
Gamma Rays

 Theseare nasty ones. They have

very high energy and will even go
through metals. So they can be
used for finding tiny cracks in
metals. We cannot see the hairline
cracks in an aeroplane wing with
the naked eye
Radio waves, visible light, X-rays, and all the other
parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are
fundamentally the same thing, electromagnetic
radiation
Atomic Structure

 Atoms are made up of 3 types of particles

electrons , protons  and neutrons . 
These particles have different
properties.  Electrons are tiny, very
light particles that have a negative
electrical charge (-). Protons are much
larger and heavier than electrons and
have the opposite charge, protons have
a positive charge.  Neutrons are large
and heavy like protons, however
neutrons have no electrical charge. 
Each atom is made up of a combination
Atomic Structure

 Inatomic physics, the Bohr model,

devised by Niels Bohr, depicts the
atom as a small, positively
charged nucleus surrounded by
electrons that travel in circular
orbits around the nucleus—similar
in structure to the solar system,
but with electrostatic forces
providing attraction, rather than
gravity
 Wecan measure an atom's size in
two ways: using the atomic
number (Z) or using the atomic
mass (A, also known as the mass
number).  The atomic number
describes the number of protons in
an atom.  For hydrogen the atomic
number, Z, is equal to 1.  For
helium Z = 2.  and mass number is
the number of protons and
Contd…

 The electron orbits are designated

by letters: K,L,M,N,O.
 The atomic system allows 2
electrons in K shell,8 in the L
shell,upto 18 in the M shell, upto
32 in N shell and upto 50 in the O
shell
Contd…

 An electron in the shell closest to

the nucleus is in the K shell and
the electron is called K electron
 The electrostatic binding force is
inversely proportional to the
square of distance between the
nucleus and electron.
 Therefore a K electron has a larger
binding force than the L shell
electron.
Production Of Xrays

 X-rays are produced when fast-

moving electrons slam into a metal
object.
 The kinetic energy of the electron is
transformed into electromagnetic
energy.
 The function of the x-ray machine is
to provide a sufficient intensity of
electron flow from the cathode to
anode in a controlled manner.
Contd…

 The three principal segments of an

x-ray machine - a control panel, a
high-voltage power supply, and
the x-ray tube are all designed to
provide a large number of
electrons focused to a small spot
in such a manner that when the
electrons arrive at the target, they
have acquired high kinetic energy

Contd…

 In a x-ray tube, the projectile is the

electron. As its kinetic energy is
increased, both the intensity
(number of x-rays) and the energy
(their ability to penetrate) of the
created x-rays are increased.
 The x-ray machine is a remarkable
instrument. It conveys to the target
an enormous number of electrons at
a precisely controlled kinetic energy.
At 100 mA, for example, 6 x 1017
electrons travel from the cathode to
Contd…

 The distance between the filament

and the target is only about 1 to 3
cm and it takes only 10-10 sec for
electrons to reach the target.
Imagine the intensity of the
accelerating force required to raise
the velocity of the electrons from
zero to half the speed of light in so
short a distance.

Contd…

 The electrons traveling from the cathode to

anode in a vacuum tube comprise the x-
ray current and are sometimes called
projectile electrons. When these
projectile electrons impinge on the heavy
metal atoms of the target, they interact
with these atoms and transfer their
kinetic energy to the target.
 These interactions occur within a very
small depth of penetration into the
target. As they occur, the projectile
electrons slow down and finally come
nearly to rest, at which time they can be
conducted through the x-ray anode
assembly and out into the associated
Contd…

 By far, most of the kinetic energy of

projectile electrons is converted into
heat. The projectile electrons interact
with the outer-shell electrons of the
target atoms but do not transfer
sufficient energy to these outer-shell
electrons to ionize them. Rather, the
outer-shell electrons are simply raised to
an excited, or higher, energy level. The
outer-shell electrons immediately drop
back to their normal energy state with
the emission of infrared radiation. The
constant excitation and restabilization of
outer-shell electrons is responsible for
the heat generated in the anodes of x-ray
Contd…

 Generally, more than 99% of the

kinetic energy of projectile
electrons is converted to thermal
energy, leaving less than 1%
available for the production of x-
radiation. One must conclude,
therefore, that, sophisticated as it
is, the x-ray machine is a very
inefficient apparatus

Contd…

 Theproduction of heat in the anode

increases directly with increasing
tube current. Doubling the tube
current doubles the quantity of
heat produced. Heat production
also varies almost directly with
varying kVp.
 



Contd…

 Theefficiency of x-ray production is

independent of the tube current.
Regardless of what mA is selected,
the efficiency of x-ray production
remains constant. The efficiency of
x-ray production increases with
increasing projectile-electron
endery. At 60 kVp, only 0.5% of the
electron kinetic energy is
converted to x-rays; at 120 MeV, it
Contd…

 X-rays are produced by two different

processes
 One involves reaction of the
electrons with the nucleus of the
tungsten atoms –BREMSSTRALUNG
or GENERAL RADIATION
 The second involves collision
between the high speed electrons
and the electrons in the shell of
the target tungsten atoms-
Bremsstrahlung
radiation
 When an electron
passes near the
nucleus of a
 tungsten atom, the
positive charge of the
nucleus acts on the
negative charge of
the electron . The
electron is thus
attracted towards the
nucleus and is
deflected from its
original direction. The
electron losses
energy which is
Contd…

Electrons penetrate through many

atomic layers before giving up all
their energy so not all the x rays
are produced on the surface of the
target and also an electron will
undergo many reactions before
coming to rest and the energy lost
in each reaction is small therefore
this causes a wide distribution in
the energy of the radiation
99% of the reaction produce heat
Contd…

 The wavelength of the x ray photon

produced is related to the energy
of the electron(kev),which in turn
is related to the potential
difference (kvp) across the tube.
 The minimum wavelength of this x
ray photon is calculated : 12.4/kvp

Contd…

This is clarified in ths example :

using a 100kvp tube potential ,the
maximum energy an electron can
acquire is 100kev. An electron with
this energy can produce an x-ray
photon with a mimimum
wavelength of 0.124A .
This is the shortest wavelength
(highest energy)x ray photon that
can be produced with an x ray
Contd…

 The energy of the emitted x ray

photon resulting from the
decelaration of electrons in the
electric field of a nucleus depends
on :
 How close the electron passes to the
nucleus
 The energy of the electron and
 The charge of the nucleus.
Contd…

 The continous
spectrum has a
well defined
minimum
wavelength
 The highest energy
photon leaving
the x ray tube
depends on the
kvp used
 The lowest energy
photon leaving
the x ray tube is
CHARACTERISTIC
RADIATION


 Results when the

electrons
bombarding the
target eject
electrons from the
inner orbits of the
target atoms.
Contd…


 When the electron
is removed from
the tungsten
target ,it causes
the atom to
have an excess
positive charge
and the atom
thus becomes a
positive ion
Contd…

 In the process of
returning to its
normal state, the
ionized atom of the
tungsten get rid of
excess energy by
emitting radiation
that has
wavelength within
the x ray range.
 X rays produced in
this manner are
called
characteristic x
rays because the
wavelengths of the
x rays produced
Contd…

 The binding energy of an electron in

tungsten is about 70 kev.
Therefore a cathode electron must
have energy more than 70 kev to
eject the k shell electron from its
orbit.
 A 60 kvp electron beam will not
contain any electrons with enough
to eject a k shell electron from
tungsten
Contd…

 After an impinging electron uses 70

kev of its energy to eject the k
shell electron, the remaining
energy is shared between the
initial electron and the ejected
electron.
 Both these electrons leave the
atom.
 The ionized tungsten atom now
becomes unstable.
Contd…

 The k shell electron is replaced

,usually , by an electron from the
L shell.
 In its transition from the L to the k
shell , the electron gives up its
excess energy.
 The energy lost by the L shell
electron is radiated as a single x
ray photon.
Contd…

In tungsten the energy of this x ray

photon is 59 kev which is the
difference between the binding
energy in the k shell (about 70
kev)and that in the L shell (about
11 kev).
For tungsten the energy of this x ray
photon will always be the same,
regardless of the energy of the
electron that ejected the k shell
electron. thus the x ray photon
Contd…

 Characertsticradiations will also be

generated from transitions
involving the outer shell of
tungsten.
 The energy of these radiation is
small , and ionization in these in
these outer shells produces mostly
heat or x rays that are absorbed
by the walls of the x ray tube.
Contd…

 The figure shows

the energy of
the k
characteristic x
rays of tungsten
superimposed
on the
continous
spectrum.
 There are several
different
energies of
Contd…

Alpha 1 and alpha 2 characteristic x

rays arise from transition of l shell
electron to the k shell
Beta 1 results from an m shell to k
shell and beta 2 resulting from n
shell to k shell.
The dashed line in the figure
represents the low energy x ray
produced by bremsstrahlung that
are removed from the x ray beam
by the enclosure of the x ray tube
Contd…

 Below 70 kvp there is no k shell

characteristic radiation . Between
80 and 150 kvp characteristic
radiation contributes about 10%
to 28% of useful x ray beam.
 Above 150 kvp the contribution of
characteristic radiation decreases
and it becomes neglibile above
300 kvp.
INTENSITY OF THE X RAY
BEAM
The intensity of the x ray beam is
defined as the number of photons
in the beam multiplied by the
energy of each photon.
It varies with
a)Kilovoltage
b)X ray tube current
c)Target material



KILOVOLTAGE

 The energy of the photon emitted

from the x ray tube depends on
the energy of the electron in the
electron stream that bombards the
target of the x ray tube.
 The energy of the electron in turn is
determined by the peak kilov
oltage. Therefore the kvp
detrminies the maximum energy
( quality) of the x rays produced.
Contd…

 Intensityis proportional to the

square of kvp
 Wavelength of the characteristic
radiation produced by the target is
not changed by the kvp used. of
course the applied kilovoltage
must be high enough to excite the
characteristic radiation . For
example for tungsten atleast 70
kvp must be required to cause the
TUBE CURRENT

 The number of the x rays produced

depends on the number of
electrons that strike the target of
the x ray tube.
 The number of electrons depends
directly on the tube current used
(mA)
 The greater the ma the more
electrons are produced.
Atomic Number of Target
Material
 The higher the atomic number of
the target atoms the greater will
be the efficiency of the production
of x rays.
 For example tungsten (z=74) would
produce much more
bremsstrahlung than tin (z=50)if
both were used as target material
and compared at identical tube
potential and current.
Contd…

 Thus for continous spectrum , the

atomic number of the target
material partly determines the
quantity of the x rays produced.
 The relation ship between atomic
number of the target material and
production of characteristic
radiation is somewhat different.
Contd…

 The atomic number of the target

material determines the energy or
quality of the characteristic x rays
produced.
 For example the k shell
characteristic x rays for tungsten
(Z=74) varies from 59 to 69
kev;those of tin(Z=50) varies from
25 to 29 kev.
 With a high atomic number anode
like tungsten, the x ray beam
consist almost entirely of
bremsstralung radiation
 The contribution from characteristic
radiation varies somewhat with the
tube voltage but it never makes
upto a large percentage of the
total beam.
 However with low atomic number
anodes,bremmstralung production
is less efficient. Efficiency also
diminshes as the tube voltage is
decreased.
 The combination of low atomic
number anode and low tube
voltage reduces the efficiency of
bremmstralung production to a
point where characteristic
 Molybednum anode tubes take
advantage of this principle in
breast radiography.
 Maximum tube voltage for
mammography is 40 kvp. At this
voltage the 17.5 kev K alpha and
19.6 kev K beta characteristic
radiation of molybednum makes
up a significant portion of the total
radiation.
CONCLUSION

 So to summarise x rays are generated

by two different processes
 The production of a continous
spectrum and
 Characteristic x rays and
 The quantity of the x-rays generated
depends upon
a)Atomic number of the target material
b)Square of kvp
c)X ray tube current
 and the quality of the x-
ray beam depends entirely on the x ray
tube potential.
 Physics for radiology by christensen
 magine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/
know.../emspectrum.html –
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagn
etic_spectrum
 www.lbl.gov/MicroWorlds/ALSTool/.../
EMSpec2.html

thank you
thank you

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