Mrs. Rajlakshmi had a sudden fall and was thereafter unable to stand straight. She was in great pain. Her daughter Rita took her to the doctor. The doctor took a photograph of Mrs. Rajlakshmi's bones and found that she had suffered a fracture. He advised her to rest and take the

Question

Mrs. Rajlakshmi had a sudden fall and was thereafter unable to stand straight. She was in great pain. Her daughter Rita took her to the doctor. The doctor took a photograph of Mrs. Rajlakshmi's bones and found that she had suffered a fracture. He advised her to rest and take the required treatment.
(a) Name the electromagnetic radiation used to take the photograph of the bones.
(b) How is this radiation produced?
(c) Mention the range of the wavelength of this electromagnetic radiation.
(d) Write two values displayed by Rita.

Accepted Answer

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> [!TLDR]
> X-rays image bones; made by decelerating fast electrons on a metal target; $\lambda\sim10^{-8}$–$10^{-13}$ m; Rita shows empathy and prompt responsible action.
>
> **(a)** The radiation used to photograph bones is **X-rays** (they penetrate soft tissue but are absorbed by dense bone).
>
> **(b) Production.** X-rays are produced when **fast-moving (high-energy) electrons are suddenly stopped/decelerated** on striking a metal target of high atomic number (e.g. tungsten) in an X-ray tube. The abrupt deceleration converts the electrons' kinetic energy into high-frequency EM radiation (bremsstrahlung), together with characteristic X-rays from inner-shell transitions.
>
> **(c) Wavelength range.** Roughly $10^{-8}\,$m down to $10^{-13}\,$m (about $10\,$nm to $0.01\,$nm).
> …

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