Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Medical applications of physics
- X-rays
- Electromagnetic waves
- All waves in the electromagnetic spectrum are transverse
waves which can travel through a vacuum
- Shorter wavelengths travel the most energy
- Gamma rays, x-rays and some ultra-violet rays have enough
energy to remove electrons from atoms or molecules and form
ions
- This is called ionisation
- ionising radiation can:
- Harm the body
- Kill cells
- Damage a cells DNA
- Cause a mutation leading to cancer
- X-ray images
- Photographic film exposed to x-rays will turn black
- X-rays are transmitted through some materials that
are opaque to visible light such as healthy human
tissue
- Other materials, such as metal and bone, absorb x-rays, and some materials partially absorb them
- CT Scans
- Computerised tomography is used to build
up a three-dimensional image of the inside
of an object
- To make one, X-ray images are taken from
a number of different positions and angles
- All the results are processed in a computer to build a three-dimensional X-ray image
- It can then be processed in a number of ways, depending on the nature of the investigation carried out