Bremsstrahlung x-ray photons are produced with a broad spectrum of energies.

Bremsstrahlung x-ray photons are produced with a broad spectrum of energies.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not applicable
• D. Not sure

Answer: (A)

In bremsstrahlung, fast electrons are slowed by the electric field of nuclei, and the energy radiated as X-ray photons depends on how much energy the electron loses in each interaction. Because each encounter can drain a different amount of energy, the emitted photons fill a continuous range of energies. The spectrum has a maximum energy equal to the incident electron energy, giving a broad, continuous distribution up to that cutoff. (There are also characteristic X-ray lines from specific atomic transitions, but those are separate from the bremsstrahlung continuum.) So the statement is true.

In bremsstrahlung, fast electrons are slowed by the electric field of nuclei, and the energy radiated as X-ray photons depends on how much energy the electron loses in each interaction. Because each encounter can drain a different amount of energy, the emitted photons fill a continuous range of energies. The spectrum has a maximum energy equal to the incident electron energy, giving a broad, continuous distribution up to that cutoff. (There are also characteristic X-ray lines from specific atomic transitions, but those are separate from the bremsstrahlung continuum.) So the statement is true.