Dictionary of Environmental Health
A high-energy electromagnetic IONISING RADIATION generated when electrons collide with atomic nuclei. X-rays are described in some scientific literature as a having a wavelength shorter than ultraviolet (UV) radiation (i.e. below 1 × 10−8 metres) but in practice electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength shorter than 1 × 10−11 metres is generally known as GAMMA RADIATION.
X-rays were originally known as Röntgen rays in recognition of their discovery by Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen (1845–1923).
X-rays have neither mass nor electric charge and are less able to penetrate matter than is gamma radiation. X-rays have differential penetration dependent on the density of the material through which they are passing. This feature is used in X-ray photography of bone as it is denser than surrounding tissue and shows up as a darker image on the photographic plate.
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