X-ray - 08Nov2010

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 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is called Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who is generally 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). XRAY is used as the phonetic pronunciation for the letter x.

X-rays from about 0.12 to 12 keV (10 to 0.10 nm wavelength) are classified as "soft" X-rays, and from about 12 to 120 keV (0.10 to 0.01 nm wavelength) as "hard" X-rays, due to their penetrating abilities.

Hard X-rays can penetrate solid objects, and their most common use is to take images of 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 can hardly be said to penetrate matter at all; for instance, the attenuation length of 600 eV (~ 2 nm) x-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer. X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation, and exposure to them can be a health hazard.

The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays has changed in recent decades. Originally, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by X-ray tubes had a longer wavelength than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei (gamma rays). Older literature distinguished between X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10−11 m, defined as gamma rays. However, as shorter wavelength continuous spectrum "X-ray" sources such as linear accelerators and longer wavelength "gamma ray" emitters were discovered, the wavelength bands largely overlapped. The two types of radiation are now usually distinguished by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus.

早期X射線重要的研究者有Ivan Pului教授、威廉·克魯克斯爵士、約翰·威廉·希托夫、Eugene Goldstein、海因里希·魯道夫·赫茲、菲利普·萊納德、亥姆霍茲、尼古拉·特斯拉、愛迪生、Charles Glover Barkla、馬克思·馮·勞厄和威廉·康拉德·倫琴。

一台水冷X射線管的圖紙（簡化／過時）物理學家希托夫觀察到真空管中的陰極發出的射線。當這些射線遇到玻璃管壁會產生螢光。1876年這種射線被Eugene Goldstein命名為"陰極射線" 。隨後，英國物理學家克魯克斯研究稀有氣體裡的能量釋放，並且製造了克魯克斯管。這是一種玻璃真空管，內有可以產生高電壓的電極。他還發現，當將未曝光的相片底片靠近這種管時，一些部分被感光了，但是他沒有繼續研究這一現象。1887年4月，尼古拉·特斯拉開始使用自己設計的高電壓真空管與克魯克斯管研究X光。他發明了單電極X光管，在其中電子穿過物質，發生了現在叫做韌致輻射的效應，生成高能X光射線。1892年特斯拉完成了這些實驗，但是他並沒有使用X光這個名字，而只是籠統成為放射能。他繼續進行實驗，並提醒科學界注意陰極射線對生物體的危害性，但他沒有公開自己的實驗成果。1892年赫茲進行實驗，提出陰極射線可以穿透非常薄的金屬箔。赫茲的學生倫納德進一步研究這一效應，對很多金屬進行了實驗。亥姆霍茲則對光的電磁本性進行了數學推導。

wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray
中文 : http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/X%E5%B0%84%E7%BA%BF