Article
Article
X-ray tube
Article By:
Charlton, Ernest E. Formerly, Research Engineer, Schenectady, New York.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.751400
An electronic device used for the generation of x-rays. X-rays are produced when electrons that have been accelerated by a large potential are stopped in a target, which is usually made of metal. The x-rays radiate in all directions from the spot on the target where the electrons hit. X-rays are produced by two mechanisms in a metal target: bremsstrahlung (or braking radiation in German), which produces a continuous energy spectrum of x-rays; and characteristic x-rays, which are produced by the creation and subsequent filling of a vacancy in an inner shell of the target atoms (Fig. 1). See also: Bremsstrahlung; X-rays
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