How does an x-ray machine work and produce an image?

An x-ray examination creates images of your internal organs or bones to help diagnose conditions or injuries. A special machine emits (puts out) a small amount of ionising radiation. This radiation passes through your body and is captured on a special device to produce the image .

How an X-Ray Scan Works. To produce an image, an x-ray machine shoots an x-ray beam through the body . The beam passes through soft tissue but not through bones, due to their calcium density. The beam that passes through then interacts with film, which results in an image of the bones.

X-rays are commonly produced in X-ray tubes by accelerating electrons through a potential difference (a voltage drop) and directing them onto a target material (i.e. tungsten) . The incoming electrons release X-rays as they slowdown in the target (braking radiation or bremsstrahlung).

An X-ray is produced when a negatively charged electrode is heated by electricity and electrons are released, thereby producing energy. That energy is directed toward a metal plate, or anode, at high velocity and an X-ray is produced when the energy collides with the atoms in the metal plate.