Category Archives: Physics

The more constant voltage supplied to the X-ray tube will give greater radiation quantity and quality. A greater number of x-rays are produced when the electron energy is high  Increases radiation quality because fewer low-energy projectile electrons pass from cathode to anode to produce low-energy x-rays 3 phase power and high frequency generator – the voltage appliedContinue reading “CLO 4: Discuss the importance of voltage ripple”

Primary Circuit: contains the main power switch, circuit breakers, the autotransformer, the timer circuit, and the primary side of the step-up transformer. Secondary Circuit: contains the secondary side of the step-up transformer, the mA meter, a rectifier bank, and the x-ray tube. Filament Circuit: contains the rheostat, a step-down transformer, and the filaments. After theContinue reading “CLO 2: Describe the general components and function of the x-ray circuit to include the tube and filament circuits”

Components of the X-ray tube:  Cathode & anode assemblies Tube enclosure Rotor & stator Protective housing Cathode: (negative side of X-ray tube) contains filaments and focusing cup. Filament emits electrons when it is heated; made out of tungsten. Focusing cup, focuses the electron beam to the focal spot on the surface of the anode; made up of nickel.Continue reading “CLO 7: Describe the components and function of diagnostic x-ray tubes.”

Radioactivity – spontaneous emission of particles and energy in order to become stable Radioactive Decay – to reach stability, the nucleus spontaneously emits particles and energy and transforms itself into another atom. Results in emission of alpha particles, beta particles, and usually gamma rays. Isotopes – atoms that have the same atomic number but differentContinue reading “CLO 18: Describe radioactivity and radioactive decay in terms of alpha, beta and gamma emission”

Ionizing Radiation: radiation with enough energy so that during an interaction with an atom, it can remove tightly bound electrons from the orbit of an atom, causing the atom to become charged or ionized Non-Ionizing Radiation: lower energy on the electromagnetic spectrum. Exits all around us in every day life from multiple different sources. Ex.Continue reading “CLO 17: Differentiate between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation”

Particulate radiation: consists of particles that have mass & energy, and may or may not have an electric charge 2 main types of particulate radiation are alpha particles and beta particles. These 2 types are associated with radioactive decay. Alpha Particle: a helium nucleus that contains two protons and two neutrons Beta Particle: an electron emittedContinue reading “CLO 16: Describe particulate radiation”

Velocity = Frequency ⅹ Wavelength Frequency: number of wavelengths that pass a point of observation per second Wavelength: distance from any point on the sine wave to the next corresponding point. As frequency increases, wavelength decreases The shorter the wavelength the higher the frequency velocity is a constant At a given velocity, wavelength and frequencyContinue reading “CLO 12: Describe wavelength and frequency and how they are related to velocity.”

Electromagnetic spectrum– the range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energies The three most important electromagnetic energies in radiologic science are visible light, x- and gamma radiation, and RF (radio frequency). Each electromagnetic energy has the same velocity; which is the speed of light Speed of light = 3 ⅹContinue reading “CLO 11: Describe the electromagnetic spectrum.”

Frequency – The number of wavelengths passing a point per second Wavelength – Distance from one crest to another Energy – the ability to do work. Energy can be given off in many different forms (potential, kinetic, chemical, thermal, etc) The energy of a wave is directly proportional to frequency Electromagnetic energy – frequency andContinue reading “CLO13: Explain the relationship of energy, wavelength, and frequency”