Production and absorption of X-rays; Moseley's law; fine structure of the K lines of the elements. A cooled intrinsic germanium solid-state X-ray detector is used to measure the spectra of X-rays under a variety of circumstances that illustrate several of the important phenomena of X-ray physics. Phenomena observed and measured include the production of X-rays by fluorescent excitation, bremsstrahlung, and electron-positron annihilation and the absorption of X-rays by photoelectric interactions, Compton scattering, and pair production.
The energies of the K X-ray lines of numerous elements are measured and compared with the predictions of Moseley's Law. The energy separations and relative intensities of the Ka and Kb lines are measured and compared with the theory of fine structure in the n=2 orbitals.
Lab Guide (PDF - 1.0 MB)
A cooled intrinsic germanium solid-state X-ray detector. (Image courtesy of Junior Lab staff.)
References
Rontgen, Wilhelm Conrad. Nobel Lecture. Stockholm, Sweden, 1901. (Recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered in the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him.)
Moseley, H. G. J. "The High-Frequency Spectra of the Elements, Part I." Philosophical Magazine, no. 26 (1913): 1024.
———. "The High-Frequency Spectra of the Elements, Part II." Philosophical Magazine, no. 26 (1913): 1024.
Compton, Arthur H. "The Spectrum of Scattered X-Rays." The Physical Review 22, no. 5 (November 1923): 409-413. Second Series.
Siegbahn, Karl Manne Georg. Nobel Lecture. Stockholm, Sweden, 1924. (For his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy.)
Compton, Arthur Holly. Nobel Lecture. Stockholm, Sweden, 1927. (For his discovery of the effect named after him.)
Compton, Arthur H., and Samuel K. Allison. "The Interpretation of X-ray Spectra." In X-Rays in Theory and Experiment. 2nd ed. New York, NY: D. Van Nostrand, 1935, pp. 590-595 and 647-655.
Way, K. "Atomic Data Related to X and XUV Radiation." In Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 22 (1978): 125-130.
Bearden, J. A. "X-Ray Wavelengths." Reviews of Modern Physics 39, no. 1 (1967): 78-124.
Krause, M. O., and J. H. Oliver. "Natural Linewidths of Atomic K and L Levels, K-alpha X-Ray Lines." Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data 8, no. 2 (1979): 329-338.
Selected Resources
- NIST X-Ray Transition Database
- IUPAC - X-Ray Generation Notes (Sec: 10.2.1.2) (
PDF) - IUPAC - X-Ray Spectroscopy Terms (Sec: 10.3.4.8) (PDF)