can someone give me a description of x-rays wavelength and frequency? i'm super confused.
If you will draw a sin wave, the wavelength is the distance from crest to crest. The frequency is the number of crests in a second (of time). The frequency and wavelength numbers are inverse to one another. If the frequency is very high then the wavelength is very low; i.e., a frequency of about 30 MHz is about 10 meters. In the x-ray region, an x-ray of about 1E-8 cm wavelentgh is a very high frequency. The lesson here is that high f is short w .You can always calculate one if you know the other from c = f*w or speed of light = frequency*wavelength.
ty!
Sure! X-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation, just like visible light, radio waves, and microwaves. They are produced by high-energy processes, such as when electrons collide with atoms or when atoms undergo nuclear reactions.
In terms of wavelength, X-rays have shorter wavelengths compared to visible light. The range of X-ray wavelengths typically spans from about 0.01 to 10 nanometers (nm), which is much smaller than the range of visible light wavelengths (400 to 700 nm). These short wavelengths allow X-rays to penetrate through various materials, making them useful in medical imaging, security scanning, and other applications.
Now, let's talk about the frequency of X-rays. Frequency is a measure of how many waves pass a given point in a certain amount of time. The frequency of X-rays can be calculated using the equation:
frequency = speed of light / wavelength
Since X-rays have shorter wavelengths than visible light, their frequency is much higher. Using the equation above, you can determine the frequency of X-rays by dividing the speed of light (approximately 3 x 10^8 meters per second) by the wavelength (in meters).
For example, if the wavelength of an X-ray is 0.1 nm (or 0.1 x 10^-9 meters), you can calculate its frequency as:
frequency = (3 x 10^8 m/s) / (0.1 x 10^-9 m)
Once you perform this calculation, you'll find that X-rays have a frequency in the range of about 3 x 10^18 to 3 x 10^20 hertz (Hz), which is several orders of magnitude higher than the frequency of visible light.
Remember, the wavelength and frequency of X-rays can vary depending on the source and the specific application. But in general, X-rays have shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies than visible light.