See also: [[Radiography]] sourced from: https://radiopaedia.org/articles/x-ray-tube-1?lang=us # How X-Rays are Made in [[X-Ray Tubes]] Motivation: Understand the process behind how X-rays are made in X-Ray Tubes X-Ray are produced in two fashions: ## 1. [[Bremsstrahlung X-Rays]] The electrons being fired at the anode lose energy as they "brake" around atoms in the target. The closer the electron gets to the nucleus, the more energy it emits in the form of an x-ray. ## 2. [[Characteristic X-Rays]] If the electrons have an energy greater than or equal to the binding energy of the orbiting electrons, the electrons are likely to be ejected from the atom (these are called photoelectrons). This is most likely to occur with the inner shell (K-Shell) electrons, and when one leaves there is a vacancy that needs to be filled, which is done by an electron at a higher energy state. When the electron goes to the lower state, it emits a characteristic x-ray, an x-ray at a specific energy, the difference between the binding energies of two energy states.