During Xray production 3 things occur:

1. Heat is produced

2. Bremstrahlung radiation is produced

3. Characteristic radiation is produced

-Characteristic radiation is the radiation dependent on the binding energies of the anode material. In the case of Tungsten it is 69.6 keV. Projectile electrons will ionize a k-shell electron. This is the amount of energy required to displace electrons. Once these electrons are displaced, electrons from higher level orbits will drop down to fill their places. This drop will result in the production of photons with a keV of 69.6.

- Bremstrahlung radiation is the radiation created from the braking, or deceleration of projectile electrons. The change in speed and direction leads to the creation of Bremstrahlung photons. This is a conservation of momentum.

- Ripple effect is the variation in the peak xray energy during a given exposure. The peaks can be 60k to 100k when stepped up.

- Ripple Factors:

1. Single phase = 100%

2. Three phase = 10%

3. Med. Frequency = 10%

4. High frequency = 1%

Category: Radiology Notes