The dream became a reality after the discovery of X-ray machines are mainly used in medical applications.
X-ray machine has undoubtedly saved many, many people with health issues are impossible to detect without the presence of this machine.
In this article we review the history of X-rays.
X-ray
X-rays are electromagnetic radiation that actually brings energy, which is absorbed by some substances but not by other substances.
One example is the use of X-rays to diagnose a fracture. In this procedure, X-ray radiation is projected on the body fractures.
X-ray machines will fire photons that penetrate the body and partially absorbed by the bone. Photons that are not absorbed then caught on film showing an image with a broken or cracked bone that occurs.
In addition to the health sector, the X-ray scanning is also widely used in other fields such as to scan the luggage of passengers at the airport, or search for hidden dangerous objects like bombs or firearms.
The discovery of X-rays
In November 1895, Wilhelm Rontgen, a physics professor from Germany found when examining the X-ray Crookes tubes (tubes containing gas to study the electron).
Inadvertently, after wrapping one tube with black cardboard thin, he saw that most of the light made it through the cardboard.
Upon further investigation, found that the Rontgen rays can also pass through paper, books, and even his wife's hand.
The resulting picture of his wife's hand printed bones complete with a ring she was wearing. This picture credited as X-ray photo of human body parts first.
Since then, X-ray technology is growing. Two of the scientists who contributed to the development of X-rays is Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison who made X-ray scanning a standard procedure in a modern hospital.
New Technology
In the early 1920s, it was realized that the use of unreliable Crookes tubes anymore. To generate current, the tube should be partially filled with gas, which would be absorbed by the glass and eventually lead to the emission of X-rays that are not optimal.
Crookes tube is also considered to be inefficient because it must always be replaced after a fire. This condition then encourages the Coolidge tube that uses filament of tungsten and heated by an electric current.
Coolidge tube is much more efficient than the Crookes tube and still used in modern medicine and is the basis for most of the X-ray machine at the moment.
Use in the Health Sector
Being one of the most useful tools in the field of health, radiologists use X-ray scanning to produce images of the internal structure of the patient's body.
This allows a variety of diagnoses such as fractures, look for the possibility of a tumor, and even look at the digestive tract can be done more accurately.
By using the 'ion space' which is located between the patient and X-ray film, radiologists can adjust the amount of emitted radiation exposure to the patient.
security
Various types of X-ray machines used for different applications. For example, X-ray machines at airports produce radiation so low that it is safe to use.
future
As technology advances, X-ray procedures are also progressing. In the 1980s, X-ray laser technology was proposed, but was later abandoned due to the limitations of the current technology capabilities.
However, evolving technology X-ray machines allow future smaller, less dangerous, and most importantly has the ability to scan better so potentially save more patients.