Electricity and Electrostatics for X-ray Technology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on electricity and electrostatics as they relate to X-ray production.

Electricity

Distribution and movement of electrons and their associated charges; power from the wall used to make X-rays.

Electron

Negative charge carrier; smallest unit of negative charge that orbits the nucleus and can be freely moving or ejected.

Proton

Positive charge located in the nucleus; tightly bound and rarely ejected.

Electrostatics

Study of electric charges at rest.

Neutral

Uncharged object with no net electric charge (no lines of force).

Electric field lines (lines of force/lines of flux)

Paths illustrating the direction of electric influence; radiate from positive charges and toward negative charges; synonyms include lines of force and lines of flux.

Line of force / Line of flux

Alternate terms for electric field lines used interchangeably with electric field lines.

Like charges

Charges of the same sign that repel each other.

Unlike charges

Charges of opposite signs that attract each other.

Ground / Earth

Reference point for charge distribution; vast reservoir of charges that can dissipate excess charge to prevent shocks.

Conductor

Material in which electrons can move; charges reside on the external surface of a solid conductor (e.g., copper).

Insulator / Nonconductor

Material with poor electron flow; charges distribute throughout the material rather than on the surface.

Electric charge

Property of matter (positive or negative) that governs electrical interactions; electrons are negative, protons are positive.

Electrification

Adding or removing electrons to create a net charge; negative electrification means excess electrons, positive electrification means fewer electrons.

Negatively electrified

Object with an excess of electrons (more negative charges than positive).

Positively electrified

Object with a deficit of electrons (more positive charge relative to electrons).

Static electricity

Electric charges at rest; electrostatics involves stationary charges.

Current (electricity in motion)

Movement of electrons along a conductor when a circuit is closed.

Ionization

Process of an atom losing an electron to become ionized.

Binding energy

Energy required to remove an electron from an atom; electrons farther from the nucleus have lower binding energy and are more easily removed.

Atomic structure

Atom composed of protons in the nucleus and electrons around it; neutral atoms have equal numbers of protons and electrons.

X-ray production and electricity

High-energy electrons accelerated by kilovolts interact with matter to produce X-rays.

Inverse square law

The effect of a charge decreases with the square of the distance between charges (double distance → one-fourth influence).