Interactions of X-rays with matter

Question 1

what is primary radiation

Answer 1

this type of radiation comes directly from a source without any interactions with matter

in the case of an xray tube, the primary radiation would be the beam

Question 2

what is attenuation

Answer 2

this is reffered to as the weakening of the primary radiation

when the xray beam comes into contact with the patient, not all of the x ray photons in the beam come into contact so the beam has been weakened

Question 3

what factors affect attenuation

Answer 3

the energy of the xray beam
the density of the medium
the thickness of the medium
the atomic number of the medium

Question 4

explain the three processes that take place when an xray beam passes through matter

Answer 4

transmission- xray photons pass through the medium and interact with the image receptor

absorption - the x-ray photons can be completely absorbed by the medium

scatter- xray beams can collide with atoms in the4 medium and scatter in different directions