X-Ray Production Flashcards
what are the main components of the dental x-ray unit
tubehead, collimator, positioning arm, control panel, circuitry
what are the components of the x-ray tube
glass envelope, cathode, anode
what is the cathode filament
coiled metal wire
what gets passed through the cathode filament
low voltage, high current electricity
how are electrons released from the cathode wire
by thermionic emission
what happens if you increase the current in the cathode filament
increased heat and increased electrons
what is the cathode filament made of
tungsten
what are the properties of tungsten
high melting point, high atomic number (lots of electrons), malleable
what is the cathode focusing cup
metal plate shaped around filament
what is the cathode focusing cup made of
molybdenum
what are the properties of molybdenum
high melting point, relatively poor thermionic emitter
what is the relationship between the cathode and anode
electrons released at filament are repelled away from the cathode and attracted to the anode
how is kinetic energy generated between cathode and anode
when the electrons collide with the anode target they have a high kinetic energy
what do transformers do
take mains electrical supply and convert it by changing the voltage and current
what is the mains electrical supply
220-240v
what are the 2 transformers present in the tubehead
step up and step down
what does the step up transformer do
increase potential difference across x-ray tube to 60,000-70,000V
what does the step down transformer do
decrease the potential difference across filament to about 10V
what do electron volts measure
the kinetic energy gained by electrons as they accelerate from cathode to anode
what is an anode target
metal block bombarded by electrons
what is the anode target made of
tungsten
what is the focal spot on the anode target
precise area on target where electrons collide and x-rays are produced
what is the purpose of the heat dissipating block on the anode
heat produced in target dissipates into the block by thermal conduction to reduce risk of overheating
what is the heat dissipating block made of
copper
what are the properties of copper
high melting point and high thermal conductivity
what is the penumbra effect
blurring of a radiographic image due to focal spot not being a single point