Material Engineering and the Production of X-Rays - Essay Example

Lecturer: X-rays Materials science and engineering is one the most significant discipline in engineering. This because affects entirely all the traditional fields in the field of engineering. Material engineering deals specifically with the structure and elements of materials that are used in modern technology. This means that materials science and engineering operates in a world characterized by high technological advances because technological advancements created from advanced materials. The significance of materials science and engineering started a long time ago. It has existed for many years. Nowadays, people only look at the names of eras and realize that materials have been helpful in the creation of civilization. These eras include the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. In fact, people have branded the current era as the material era because of the contribution that material engineering has provided. X-rays use materials that are provided by the technology in material science and engineering. The history of the development of science and technology has always been directly linked to the progress of materials science and engineering. In recent times, the expansion of concentration in the surface qualities of solids has become a feature of this field of knowledge. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that interactions with material are realized through the free surface of the materials. Surface layers can unfalteringly control the application of the whole quantity of material. The free surface is essential for a large amount of material and mechanical features of materials that include yield strength, proportionality limit and material behavior in processes of fragile and low energy fracture (Sham 1012). The concept of X-rays was first discovered by a physicist from Germany called Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. However, A.W. Goodspeed was the first person to make the X-ray discovery, on February 22, 1890. Because there was no information that could prove that he had discovered X-ray, Goodspeed named his discovery an accident and did not take any credit for the work he had done (Dyson 1). In the discovery, Wilhelm enclosed a glass tube inside of a black paper box. He attached a wiring that ran inside the glass tube that resembled the inside of a light bulb. This enabled the electrical currents to build up in the glass tube. He then connected the tube to an induction coil apparatus that allowed an electric current to pass through the tube. This way, a faint green colored light could be seen across the room. He decided to do this in a different way to be sure of what he had seen. He lit a match stick and discovered that there was a small screen in the room which was coated with a chemical. The lighting from the match stick sent the current along the tube. This made the exact same light to appear again. As he continued with his experiments, he discovered that these rays could penetrate through objects, such as wood and metal. Accidentally, his hand came in contact with the tube one day, and saw shadows of his hand with darker shadows that represented the bones. When he moved his hand, the shadow on the screen also moved. He named the shadow the first x-ray picture (Lewin, Paradijs and Heuvel 373). X-ray works in a unique way. As the wavelengths of light diminish, they augment in terms of the energy that is produced. X-rays have lesser wavelengths, which cause higher energy compared to ultraviolet waves. This is the reason as to why professionals consider X-rays with respect to the energy they produce rather than their wavelength. This is partly because X-rays have minute wavelengths. Another reason is because X-ray light works like particles as opposed to waves. X-ray detectors gather definite photons of X-ray light that are remarkably different from the radio telescopes that contain large tableware designed to focus radio waves. When an X-ray of a person’s body is done in a hospital, professionals put X-ray sensitive films on one side of the patient’s body. This allows X-rays to be done through the body. In a dental hospital, the film is normally placed inside mouth, specifically on one side of the teeth. After that, the X-rays are shot through the jaw, to take the X-ray picture. One advantage with x-ray is that it causes no pain to the patient. The patient feels absolutely nothing. Because human bones and teeth are dense, they attract more X-rays than the skin does. This is because when an X-ray is taken, silhouettes located in the bones and teeth appear clearly on the X-ray film while the skin is not seen. The skin appears transparent. In comparison to bones and teeth, metals attract more X-rays. Just like the way the Sun shines at a certain angle, human shadow is projected on the ground. In the same manner, X-ray light passes through the human skin. However, it allows shadows of the bones or teeth to be projected onto the capturing film (Dyson 10). The concept of X-rays has been used to improve life on earth with the best being its use in hospitals. In addition, X-rays are used on satellites to perform X-ray astronomy with the use of X-ray detectors. These detectors collect specific x-ray photons from the light. This helps to tell professionals the type of object that is emitting those photons through looking at things like the amount of photons, the rate of the photons and their energy. The objects that can be studied using X-rays in space include neuron stars, the sun, supernova remnants, binary star systems, black holes and certain comets among others. The earth brightens because of many kinds of light including the light that comes from energetic X-ray bands. In hospitals, x-rays have become very useful because it has been used to identify fractures and bone breakages in the human body. It has also been used in certain cases to detect dislocations in the joints inside the human body. In recent times, chest x-ray was introduced to help physicians examine the human chest and determine whether a person has chest complications that include asthmatic conditions. These developments have been used by professionals in hospitals to improve services given to human lives and avoid accidents and situations that could lead to fatal consequences (Stanfield, Hui and Cross 207). X-rays are also used to detect tumors in the flesh so that doctors can know how to deal with such situations. X-rays can also be used for industrial purposes. They are used to detect structural failures that could cause harm to the industry. They are used specifically to detect hairline cracks in rods of metal or punctures in tires of motor vehicles of engines. For uses in science fields, they perform the functions of copying radiation environments that are identify by spacecrafts (Stanfield, Hui and Cross 209). To produce x-rays there must be certain properties and processes. For the generation of x-rays, three essential things must be provided. There must be a source of electrons, a means to accelerate those electrons to a high speed and a target that will receive the impact of the electrons once they are accelerated. The target serves the purpose of interacting with the electrons. Electrons are essential because the free electrons produce x-rays. This happens when the free electrons release energy when they come into contact with orbital electrons on nucleus of an atom. The energy produced comes out as electromagnetic energy also known as X-radiation (Weiler 94). In conclusion, material engineering has been used for the production of x-rays. X-rays have become an essential part of the society because of their use in health institutions, industries and for the study of space objects. X-rays have helped ease life on earth because people can no longer do certain things manually, such as the location of tumors and bone problems. Works cited Dyson, N. A. X-rays in Atomic And Nuclear Physics. London: Cambridge University Press, 2005.Print. Lewin, Walter H. G., Jan Van Paradijs and Edward P. J. van den Heuvel. X-Ray Binaries. London: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print. Sham, Tsun-Kong. Chemical Applications of Synchrotron Radiation: X-ray applications. New York: World Scientific, 2002. Print. Stanfield, Peggy, Hui Hui and Nanna Cross. Introduction to the Health Professions. New Jersey: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print. Weiler, Kurt W. Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursters. New York: Springer, 2003. Print. Read More