Sunday, November 9, 2008

Properties of X rays

X rays are electromagnetic waves of short wave lengths.
So they have many properties common with light.

1. They travel in straight lines in vacuum at a speed equal to that of light.
2. They are diffracted by crystals according to Bragg's law.
3. x-rays do not contain charged particles. hence they are not deflected by electric or magnetic field.
4. They effect a photographic plate. The effect is stronger than light.

Properties which are different than light

1. When incident on certain materials barium platinocyanide, X rays cause fluorescence.
2. When passed through a gas, X rays ionize the molecules of the gas.

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