Bremsstrahlung X-Rays

 

"Bremsstrahlung" means "braking radiation" and is retained from the original German to describe the radiation which is emitted when electrons are decelerated or "braked" when they are fired at a metal target. Accelerated charges give off electromagnetic radiation, and when the energy of the bombarding electrons is high enough, that radiation is in the x-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is characterized by a continuous distribution of radiation which becomes more intense and shifts toward higher frequencies when the energy of the bombarding electrons is increased. The curves above are from the 1918 data of Ulrey, who bombarded tungsten targets with electrons of four different energies.

The bombarding electrons can also eject electrons from the inner shells of the atoms of the metal target, and the quick filling of those vacancies by electrons dropping down from higher levels gives rise to sharply defined characteristic x-rays.