X-Ray Production

Flashcards covering key concepts from the X-Ray Production lecture.

Bremsstrahlung

A type of x-ray production that occurs when an incident electron interacts with the electrostatic force field of a nucleus, slowing down and emitting x-ray photon energy.

Characteristic Interactions

Interactions where an incident electron knocks out a K-shell electron, leading to a secondary photon being produced as other electrons fill the vacancy.

kVp

Kilovolt peak, it controls the quality of the x-ray photons and influences the quantity of photons produced in x-ray generation.

Target Materials

Materials such as tungsten and rhenium that have high Z numbers and melting points used for efficient x-ray production.

Incident Electrons

Electrons that are accelerated towards the target in an x-ray tube to produce x-rays.

Heat Production

99.8 percent of incident electron kinetic energy is converted to heat rather than x-ray photons during x-ray production.

Photon Energy

The energy of x-ray photons, which is dependent on the incident electron's proximity to the nucleus and its rate of deceleration.

Emission Spectrum

The range of energies of x-ray photons produced, characterized by a continuous Bremsstrahlung component and discrete characteristic peaks.

mAs

Milliamperes per second, it controls the number of photons produced by changing the amount of current flowing through the filament.

Characteristic Peak

Specific energy values at which characteristic x-ray photons are emitted, based on the atomic number of the material.