Essay On Electromagnetic Waves

Electromagnetic waves are a type of radiation that is produced from electrons (negatively charged particles) and x-rays is a type of electromagnetic wave. The shorter the wavelength of a wave, the more energy the wave emits. Gamma radiation has the shortest wavelength amongst all the other electromagnetic waves and has the most energy. It cannot be seen or felt and can pass through almost anything. X-rays have slightly longer wavelengths than Gamma rays and has the second most energy emission. Like Gamma, x-rays cannot be seen but unlike Gamma radiation, x-rays cannot pass through dense objects like bone or metal but can easily pass through less denser objects like skin or soft tissue. Like all electromagnetic waves, x-rays are generated from electrons. X-rays are formed when electrons reflect off a specific type of metal, like tungsten. The metal needs to have specific …show more content…
X-rays can be used for many purposes like safety or even as a separation technique, but it is mostly known as a way for doctors or dentists to inspect a human body without having to undergo surgery. A few medical examples of the uses of x-rays can be finding broken bones, cracks in your teeth and other abnormalities (bullets, blood clots, cancer, tumors, swallowed items, infections, kidney stones, etc) in the body without having to go through surgery. It is typical for the human body to break a bone or to catch some unwanted disease and x-rays does the job in finding them out. X-rays are typically known to have the second most energy in the electromagnetic spectrum, but nowadays, the wavelengths and energy of an x-ray can be adjusted by the x-ray machine. The higher the wavelength is, the more the x-ray can penetrate through less dense objects but the less the wavelength is, the more visible the less dense parts of the body can be seen. This helps doctors to view parts of the body that aren’t so dense like a disease or a blood clot.