Chapter 10

X-rays

(June 3, 2005)
 Summary to last lecture
• One dimensional solid walls
d  2mE
2

2
 2  0
dx 

 2 2 n 2
E 2
n  1,2,3, 
2mL
2  n 
 n ( x)  sin  x
L  L 
For a given wave-function in the infinity dee
p well, what can you get from it?
( 何结仪 , 罗梅娟 )
2  5 
 5 ( x)  sin  x
L  L 
 2  2 
 2 ( x)  sin  x
L  L 
For the above given wave-function, how do you get
the positions in which they have maximum probab
ilities of finding the particle in the well?
朱　华 , 魏锦洪

If the above function is multiplied by 3, how do th

e probabilities of finding the particle in the well ch
ange? ( 杨燕华 , 陈　曼 )
• The tunneling effect
What does the tunneling effect explain?
麦小婷 *, 梁卓栋

I II III
E V0

Fig.9.3 the tunnel effect

• The scanning tunneling microscope

• The concept of atomic
structure in quantum mechanics
me 4 Z 2
En   2 2  2 n  1,2,3, 
8 0 h n
L  l (l  1) l  0,1,2,3,, (n  1)

Lz  m m  l ,l  1,,1,0,1,2, , l

1
Ls  s ( s  1) s  for electron
2
 n 1
Z n   2(2l  1)  2n 2

l 0

• The ionization energy of hydrogen

En
n=∞
4 n=5,6 -.38eV
me n=4
-0.54eV
-.0.85eV
E1   2 2 n=3 -1.5eV
Paschen series
8 0 h Balmer series
(infrared)
n=2 -3.4 eV
 13.6eV

n  , E  0 Lyman series(ultraviolet)

n=1 -13.6 eV

Fig.4 Electronic energy levels in Hydrogen atom

 l = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …
s, p, d, f, g, h,
…
2(2l+1) = 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, …
What is the The ground-state configurati
on ( 组态 ) of aluminum whose Z is equal
to 13?
 11.1 The fundamental knowledge a
nd the production of x-rays
X-rays are produced by
electrons  accelerated by103 to 106V
electrons with high speed strike a metal tar
get  x-rays.
observed by Röntgen in 1895 and named as
Röntgen rays ( 伦琴射线 ).
• X-rays are electromagnetic waves
• Their interaction with matter is
governed by quantum theory.
• The energy of x-ray photons is E = hv.
• Wavelengths of x-rays is 0.001 to
10nm and measured quite precisely by
crystal diffraction techniques.
1. The equipment of the X-ray
production
• The conditions of X-ray production:
(1) high speed electrons beam
(2) proper target to transform the
kinetic energy of electrons into the
energy of X-rays.
• The productive set of X-rays:
This part contains three components: X-ray
tube, one low voltage power supply (electrical
source) and one high voltage power supply.
X-ray tube

milliammeter

Step-down transformer

Step-up transformer
 Anode Cathode

A common x-ray tube is the Coolidge type. A thermioni

c ( 热电子的 ) cathode and an anode are enclosed in a gl
ass tube that has been pumped down to an extremely lo
w pressure. Electrons emitted from the cathode can the
n travel directly to the anode with only a small probabil
ity of a collision on the way, and they reach the anode w
ith a speed corresponding to the full potential difference
across the tube.
 Good heat
conductor

1% to x-rays
99% to heat energy
2. The intensity and hardness of x-rays
• The intensity of X-rays:
The intensity of X-rays is defined as the
energies of x-rays passing through the unit
area with its normal line along the
propagating direction of x-rays per unit
time.
n
I   N h i i
Ni is number of hvi
i 1
to increase the intensity of x-rays, we need:
(1) to increase the tube current (more ele
ctrons)
(2) to increase tube voltage (increasing t
he energy of each x-ray photon).
Under certain tube voltage, the current o
f filament ( 灯丝 ) control the intensity o
f x-rays. They are proportional to each ot
her.
3. The hardness of x-rays
The hardness of x-ray is defined as its
penetrating ability. It depends on the
wavelength of the x-rays not on the
number of x-ray photons. The hardness of
x-rays is proportional to the energy of x-
ray photons. It is known that the energy of
x-ray photons is proportional to the
voltage applied to the x-ray tube.
Therefore, the hardness of x-rays is usually
expressed by tube voltage in kV.
11.2 The X-ray spectrum
1. Continuous x-ray spectrum: The x-rays from
its tube usually contains different wavelengths
and the plot of its intensity versus wavelength
for spectrum of radiation emitted by an x-ray
tube is called x-ray spectrum.
Fig.12-2: An electron
passing near a charged
target atom experiences
an acceleration, and a
photon is emitted in the
process.
 n=2~L
n=1~K
From higher energy levels

L K

Fig. 12-3 The x-ray spectrum of a metal target consists of a br

oad continuous spectrum plus a number of sharp lines, which
are called characteristic x-rays ( 标识Ｘ射线 ).
 X-rays are emitted from the anode surface as
a consequence of bombardment ( 轰击 ) by th
e electron stream. Two distinct processes are i
nvolved in x-ray emission.
(1) Some of the electrons are stopped by the targ
et
(2) Others transfer their energy in whole or in p
art to the atoms of the target to excite the ato
ms.
The latter is the characteristic of the target, w
hile the former emits continuous spectrum.
For multiple electron atoms, the outer
electrons of an atom are the ones responsible
for the optical spectra of the elements.
Relatively small amounts of electron energy
suffice (be able) to remove these electrons to
excited states, and on their return to normal
states, wavelength in or near the visible region
are emitted. The inner electrons, being closer
to the nucleus, are more tightly bound, and
much more energy is required to displace
them from their normal levels.
As a result, we would expect a photon of much
larger energy, and hence much higher
frequency, to be emitted when the atom returns
to its normal state after the displacement of an
inner electron.
This is, in fact, the case, and it is the
displacement of the inner electrons that gives
rise to the emission of x-rays. In addition to the
x-ray line spectrum there is a background of
continuous x-ray radiation from the target of an
x-ray tube. This is due to the sudden
deceleration of those “cathode rays”.
The remarkable feature of the continuou
s spectrum is that while it extends Indefin
itely towards the long wavelength end, it i
s cut off very sharply at the short wavele
ngth end. The quantum theory furnishes
a simple explanation of the short-wave li
mit of the continuous x-ray spectrum (it i
s called Bremsstrahlung 韧致辐射 ).
• Cutoff wavelength

c
eU  h max  h
min
hc 1 1.242
min    nm
e U U (kV )
11.3 The basic properties of x-rays
1. The general properties of x-rays
• Ionizing function
x-ray enables the atoms and molecules t
o be ionized and this characteristic is qui
te useful in medical treatment.
• Fluorescence function ( 荧光作用 ) : x-r
ay Fluoroscopy ( 透视 )
•Actinic ( 光化学的 ) function: causing m
any chemical reaction. Such as x-ray photo
graphy
• biological effect: This function is the basi
s of radioactive ( 放射的 ) treatment in me
dicine and also the reason to protect.
• penetration capability: Both x- ray Flu
oroscopy ( 透视 ) & x-ray photography req
uires such function.
2. The diffraction of x-rays
The wavelength of x-rays is about
0.001 ~ 10 nm and this length is
comparable to the distance between
two atoms in crystals.

Principle of x-ray diffractions Principle of spectrograph of x-rays

 2d sin   k k = 1, 2, 3, …

Example: If the spacing between certain plan

es in crystal of calcite ( 方解石 ) is 0.314 nm,
find the angles of incidence at which first-ord
er and third order interference will occur for
x-rays of wavelength 0.070nm.
Solution: it is known that d = 0.314 nm,  = 0.
070nm. Substituting the two quantities into t
he above formula, you could easily obtain: 1
= 6.37o, 3 = 19.5o.
11.4 The attenuation ( 衰减 ) of x-rays
When x-rays go through matter, various
interactions will be happened in the process.
X-rays are absorbed by matter.

1. The attenuation law of monochromatic

x-rays
We use the word “monochromatic” as
different matters have different abilities on
absorbing different wavelength of x-rays.
  x
I  I 0e Units of x, cm, , cm-1

Where I0 is the intensity of x-rays and I is the

intensity of x-rays after penetrating through
the x thickness of matter. The intensity
decrease follows the exponential rule.  is the
linear attenuation coefficient. For a specific
matter, the attenuation is proportional to the
density of the matter. Because of this, the mass
attenuation coefficient, m, could be defined,
denoted as
 
m 

It can be used to compare the absorbing
abilities among different materials. If we
introduce the mass thickness xm =  x, the
attenuation equation could be written as
  m xm
I  I 0e
Units: xm (g·cm-2) , m (cm2 ·g-1)
The thickness or the depth which could abso
rb the half amount of incident x-rays is calle
d half-value depth (or thickness). ( 半值厚度
　 Or 　半衰减层厚度 )

ln 2 0.693 ln 2 0.693
x1/ 2   , xm ,1/ 2  
  m m
x x
 1  x1 / 2  1  x m ,1 / 2
I  I0   或 I  I0  
 2  2
2. The relation of attenuation coefficient to
the wavelength and atomic number
For the low energy x-rays used in medicine,
the photon energy is between tens ~
hundreds keV. For different atoms and
different wavelength of x-rays, the mass
attenuation coefficient is approximately
satisfied with the following relation:

 m  KZ  3 K is generally a constant
 is about 3 ~ 4.
11.5 Applications of x-rays to m
edicine
1. Treatment
The x-rays used in clinic treatment is mainly f
or cancer. It is found that x-rays can induce a
series of biological effects in human body (ioni
zing, Compton effect, producing electron-posit
ron pairs). They can damage especially the bio
logical tissue cells which are active in fission
( 裂变 ). Cancer cells are such cells. Therefore,
the x-rays can kill them or at least can reduce
their fission speed.
2. Diagnosis
• Fluoroscopy ( 透视 ) and photography ( 摄影 )
: As different parts and organs in human body
have different absorbing abilities of x-rays, the
homogeneous intensity of x-rays will be not ho
mogeneous after penetrating human body. If t
he non-homogeneous x-rays are projected onto
fluorescent screen, the image of the organs can
be formed on the screen. This is called x-ray fl
uoroscopy. If the transmitted x-rays irradiate
on a negative film, the picture can be seen after
development. The technique is called x-ray ph
otography.
•Digital subtraction angiography ( 数字减影
血管造影 ).
(1) Digital: The general principle of this tec
hnique is to change the photograph data into d
igital signal;
(2) subtraction and angiography: In the bl
ood vessel, we could inject some material, calle
d contrast medium ( 造影剂 ), which can absor
b more x-rays. If we take two photographs, on
e of them is normal and the other contains con
trast medium, then we
translate them into digital signals (numerical
data), and then subtract one by the other, th
e blood vessel’s picture can be obtained. Acc
ording to this picture, you could find the stat
us of blood vessel whether it is in normal or
abnormal situation. For example, you could
easily find the positions where it becomes na
rrow, where it has a tumor, where the blood
is obstructed ( 阻塞 ), where it is deformity o
r malformation ( 畸形 ) and so on.
3. X-CT
• CT: Computerized Tomography (X 射线断层
摄影术 )), 　
• Basic principle of CT: As different tissue has d
ifferent absorbing coefficient and different thi
ckness also has different absorbing coefficient,
the coefficient are taken as a parameter. The p
rinciple is to set up the distribution of the coeff
icient in each part of every layer of the materi
al in question and using computer to reconstru
ct the image of the material.
4. CT Scanner
CT Scanner: Computerized Tomography
Scanner: an x-ray machine that can
produce stereographic images (former
name: CAT Scanner (Computer-Aided
Tomography)