Basics of X-Ray

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz) and energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is called Rontgen radiation, after Wilhelm Rontgen, who is usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation. Correct spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language includes the variants x-ray(s) and X ray(s).

X-rays up to about 10 keV (10 to 0.10 nm wavelength) are classified as "soft" X-rays, and from about 10 to greater than 120 keV (0.10 to 0.01 nm wavelength) as "hard" X-rays, due to their penetrating abilities.

Hard X-rays can penetrate some solids and liquids, and all uncompressed gases, and their most common use is to image the inside of objects in diagnostic radiography and crystallography. As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to a radiographic image produced using this method, in addition to the method itself. By contrast, soft X-rays hardly penetrate matter at all; the attenuation length of 600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer.

The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays is somewhat arbitrary. The most frequent method of distinguishing between X- and gamma radiation is the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10−11 m, defined as gamma rays. The electromagnetic radiation emitted by X-ray tubes generally has a longer wavelength than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei. Historically, therefore, an alternative means of distinguishing between the two types of radiation has been by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus. There is overlap between the wavelength bands of photons emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, and photons emitted by the nucleus. Like all electromagnetic radiation, the properties of X-rays (or gamma rays) depend only on their wavelength and polarization (or, in a polychromatic beam, the distributions of wavelength and polarization).