X-ray

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

electromagnetic spectrum

X-ray of coronary artery

osteogenesis imperfecta

trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles of the human airway tree

Figure 6: Incident rays (1 and 2) at angle θ on the planes of atoms in a crystal. Rays reinforce if their difference in path length (AB + BC) is an integer times the wavelength of the X ray.

Figure 1: The electromagnetic spectrum.

For Students

Read Next

Marie Curie, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911).

Radium Girls: The Women Who Fought for Their Lives in a Killer Workplace

The first contingent of the Women's Overseas Hospitals, supported by the National American Woman Suffrage Association. (World War I)

Women in World War I: A Photo Gallery

Discover

Germans from East and West stand on the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate in the November 10, 1989, photo, one day after the wall opened.

Timeline of the 1980s

green digital binary symbols

What Comes After Terabyte?

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics

10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time

New Zealand. Political/Physical map. Includes locator.

Where Is “Old Zealand”?

X-ray: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Long-dormant black hole 'woke up' before our eyes — now, it's doing something that astronomers can't explain • Apr. 16, 2025, 7:39 AM ET (Live Science)

Sleeping Black Hole Erupts in Real Time – Blasting Out Record-Breaking X-Rays • Apr. 14, 2025, 2:35 AM ET (SciTechDaily)

Facts

Also Known As	X-radiation • Röntgen radiation

Photos and Videos

electromagnetic spectrum

X-ray of coronary artery

osteogenesis imperfecta

trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles of the human airway tree

Figure 6: Incident rays (1 and 2) at angle θ on the planes of atoms in a crystal. Rays reinforce if their difference in path length (AB + BC) is an integer times the wavelength of the X ray.

Figure 1: The electromagnetic spectrum.

How does a particle accelerator work?

The environmental effects of nuclear radiation

Understand how the electromagnetic spectrum helps study the celestial bodies

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

X-ray optics soft X ray secondary X ray particle-induced X-ray emission hard X ray continuous X ray cosmic X-ray background bremsstrahlung scattered X ray X-ray fluorescence microwave infrared radiation radio wave light gamma ray ultraviolet radiation spectrum solar radiation spectroscopy luminescence

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Marie Curie

Marie Curie

Polish-born French physicist

Walter Bradford Cannon

American neurologist and physiologist

Hermann Joseph Muller

American geneticist

Arthur Holly Compton

Arthur Holly Compton

American physicist

Norman Robert Campbell

British physicist and philosopher

Giacconi, Riccardo

Riccardo Giacconi

Italian physicist

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

German physicist

Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn

Swedish physicist

Silvanus Phillips Thompson

British physicist and historian

Maurice, 6 duke de Broglie

French physicist

Barkla, Charles Glover

Charles Glover Barkla

British physicist

Hendrik Anthony Kramers

Dutch physicist

Quiz

Model of a molecule. Atom, Biology, Molecular Structure, Science, Science and Technology. Homepage 2010 arts and entertainment, history and society

Science Quiz

Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health

Medical Conditions and Discoveries Quiz

36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes