health physics a2 OCR

cpat

please help me!

can anyone explain what the characteristic lines mean on an x-ray spectra please?

Reply 1

F1 fanatic

cpat

please help me!

can anyone explain what the characteristic lines mean on an x-ray spectra please?

They're the characteristic energy levels of the element with which you are producing x-rays. To produce x-ray spectra you bombard a target with electrons. The electrons slow down very rapidly in the material and produce an energy distribution of x-rays called bremmstrahlung (braking radiation). However, the electrons also ionize electrons in the atoms of the target, close to the nucleus. x-rays are then given out as higher state electrons drop down to lower energies to fill the gaps. The energies between the states correspond to the emission of x-ray photons. These are the characteristic x-ray lines.