Množina: X-rays

Electromagnetic radiation of short wavelength produced when high-speed electrons strike a solid target; Also called: X-radiation, roentgen ray.
Band of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range 10-11 to 10-9 m (between gamma rays and ultraviolet radiation; see electromagnetic waves). Applications of X-rays make use of their short wavelength (as in X-ray diffraction) or their penetrating power (as in medical X-rays of internal body tissues). X-rays are dangerous and can cause cancer.
X-rays with short wavelengths pass through most body tissues, although dense areas such as bone prevent their passage, showing up as white areas on X-ray photographs. The X-rays used in radiotherapy have very short wavelengths that penetrate tissues deeply and destroy them.
X-rays were discovered by German experimental physicist Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895 and formerly called roentgen rays. They are produced when high-energy electrons from a heated filament cathode strike the surface of a target (usually made of tungsten) on the face of a massive heat-conducting anode, between which a high alternating voltage (about 100 kV) is applied.

1. To examine by taking x-rays.
2. To take an x-ray of something or somebody

Singular of X rays is X ray.

Množina: X-ray astronomers

Množina: X-ray astronomies

Detection of X-rays from intensely hot gas in the universe. Such X-rays are prevented from reaching the Earth's surface by the atmosphere, so detectors must be placed in rockets and satellites. The first celestial X-ray source, Scorpius X-1, was discovered by a rocket flight 1962.
Since 1970, special satellites have been orbited to study X-rays from the Sun, stars, and galaxies. Many X-ray sources are believed to be gas falling on to neutron stars and black holes.

Množina: x-ray busters

Množina: X-ray computer tomographies

Množina: x-ray crystallographers

Množina: x-ray crystallographies

Množina: X-ray diffractions

The scattering of X rays by the atoms of a crystal; the diffraction pattern shows structure of the crystal.
Method of studying the atomic and molecular structure of crystalline substances by using X-rays. X-rays directed at such substances spread out as they pass through the crystals owing to diffraction (the slight spreading of waves around the edge of an opaque object) of the rays around the atoms. By using measurements of the position and intensity of the diffracted waves, it is possible to calculate the shape and size of the atoms in the crystal. The method has been used to study substances such as DNA that are found in living material.

Množina: X-ray diffraction analyses

The use of X-rays to study the atomic and molecular structure of crystalline substances such as ceramics, stone, sediments, and weathering products on metals. The sample is ground to powder, and exposed to X-rays at various angles; the diffraction patterns produced are then compared with reference standards for identification.

Singular of x-ray eyes is x-ray eye.

Množina: X-ray films

Photographic film used to make X-ray pictures.

Množina: X-ray fluorescence spectrometries

Technique used to determine the major and trace elements in the chemical composition of such materials as ceramics, obsidian, and glass. A sample is bombarded with X-rays, and the wavelengths of the released energy, or fluorescent X-rays, are detected and measured. Different elements have unique wavelengths, and their concentrations can be estimated from the intensity of the released X-rays. This analysis may, for example, help an archeologist in identifying the source of the material.

Množina: X-ray machines

An apparatus that provides a source of X rays.