What is "x-ray"

X ray \X ray\, X-ray \X-ray\([e^]ks"r[=a]`), n. [so called by its discoverer because of its enigmatical character, x being an algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity.] (Physics) originally, any of the rays produced when cathode rays strike upon surface of a solid (as a copper target or the wall of the vacuum tube); now defined as electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 0.1 to 10 nanometers. X-rays are noted for their penetration of many opaque substances, as wood and flesh, their action on photographic plates, and their fluorescent effects. They were called X rays by their discoverer, W. K. R["o]ntgen, but were also referred to for some time as Roentgen rays. The term X-ray has become the most common designation. They also ionize gases, but cannot be reflected, or polarized, or deflected by a magnetic field. They are used in examining objects opaque to visible light, as for imaging bones or other structures inside the human body, and for detecting flaws in metal objects, such as in welds.

X ray \X ray\, X-ray \X-ray\([e^]ks"r[=a]`), v. t. to examine by means of X-rays; to irradiate with X-rays.

Ray \Ray\, n. [OF. rai, F. rais, fr. L. radius a beam or ray, staff, rod, spoke of a wheel. Cf. Radius.]

1. One of a number of lines or parts diverging from a common point or center, like the radii of a circle; as, a star of six rays.

2. (Bot.) A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius. See Radius.

3. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. One of the radiating spines, or cartilages, supporting the fins of fishes.

   2. One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.

4. (Physics)

   1. A line of light or heat proceeding from a radiant or reflecting point; a single element of light or heat propagated continuously; as, a solar ray; a polarized ray.

   2. One of the component elements of the total radiation from a body; any definite or limited portion of the spectrum; as, the red ray; the violet ray. See Illust. under Light.

5. Sight; perception; vision; -- from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen.

   All eyes direct their rays On him, and crowds turn coxcombs as they gaze.
   --Pope.

6. (Geom.) One of a system of diverging lines passing through a point, and regarded as extending indefinitely in both directions. See Half-ray.

   Bundle of rays. (Geom.) See Pencil of rays, below.

   Extraordinary ray (Opt.), that one of two parts of a ray divided by double refraction which does not follow the ordinary law of refraction.

   Ordinary ray (Opt.) that one of the two parts of a ray divided by double refraction which follows the usual or ordinary law of refraction.

   Pencil of rays (Geom.), a definite system of rays.

   Ray flower, or Ray floret (Bot.), one of the marginal flowers of the capitulum in such composite plants as the aster, goldenrod, daisy, and sunflower. They have an elongated, strap-shaped corolla, while the corollas of the disk flowers are tubular and five-lobed.

   Ray point (Geom.), the common point of a pencil of rays.

   R["o]ntgen ray (r[~e]nt"g[e^]n r[=a]`) (Phys.), a kind of ray generated in a very highly exhausted vacuum tube by the electrical discharge; now more commonly called X-ray. It is composed of electromagnetic radiation of wavelength shorter than that of ultraviolet light, and is capable of passing through many bodies opaque to light, and producing photographic and fluorescent effects by which means pictures showing the internal structure of opaque objects are made, called radiographs, sciagraphs, X-ray photographs, radiograms, or X-rays. So called from the discoverer, W. C. R["o]ntgen.

   X ray, the R["o]ntgen ray; -- so called by its discoverer because of its enigmatical character, x being an algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity.

radiograph \ra"di*o*graph\ (r[=a]"d[i^]*[-o]*gr[a^]f), n.

1. An instrument for measuring and recording solar radiation.

2. An image or picture produced upon a sensitive surface, as of a photographic or fluorescent plate, by some form of penetrating radiation other than light, as X-rays, beta rays, etc.; esp., a picture of the internal structure of opaque objects traversed by the rays; a skiagraph. When the picture is produced upon photographic film by X-rays, the picture is usually called an X-ray photo or X-ray. When an image is produced on photographic film by a radioactive substance in close proximity to the film, in a manner so as to record the spatial distribution of the radioactive substance, the resulting image is called an autoradiograph or {autoradiogram}.

1896, X-rays, translation of German X-strahlen, from X, algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity, + Strahl (plural Strahlen) "beam, ray." Coined 1895 by German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), who discovered them, to suggest that the exact nature of the rays was unknown. As a verb by 1899. Meaning "image made using X-rays" is from 1934, earlier in this sense was X-radiograph (1899).

n. (alternative spelling of X-ray English)

1. v. examine by taking x-rays

2. take an x-ray of something or somebody; "The doctor x-rayed my chest"

1. Redirect U-Foes

Category:Characters created by Bill Mantlo Category:Characters created by Sal Buscema Category:Comics characters introduced in 1980 Category:Fictional physicians Category:Fictional engineers Category:Marvel Comics mutates Category:Marvel Comics supervillains

X-Ray (1994) was Ray Davies' first major attempt to write prose outside his musical career as founding member of the British rock band the Kinks. Robert Polito calls it an "experimental non-fiction" and describes Davies as "a prose stylist of Nabokovian ambition."

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×10 Hz to 3×10 Hz) and energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is referred to with terms meaning Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Röntgen, who is usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of radiation. Spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language includes the variants x-ray(s), xray(s), and X ray(s).

X-rays with high photon energies (above 5–10 keV, below 0.2–0.1 nm wavelength) are called hard X-rays, while those with lower energy are called soft X-rays. Due to their penetrating ability, hard X-rays are widely used to image the inside of objects, e.g., in medical radiography and airport security. As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to a radiographic image produced using this method, in addition to the method itself. Since the wavelengths of hard X-rays are similar to the size of atoms they are also useful for determining crystal structures by X-ray crystallography. By contrast, soft X-rays are easily absorbed in air; the attenuation length of 600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer.

There is no consensus for a definition distinguishing between X-rays and gamma rays. One common practice is to distinguish between the two types of radiation based on their source: X-rays are emitted by electrons, while gamma rays are emitted by the atomic nucleus. This definition has several problems: other processes also can generate these high-energy photons, or sometimes the method of generation is not known. One common alternative is to distinguish X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength (or, equivalently, frequency or photon energy), with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10 m (0.1 Å), defined as gamma radiation. This criterion assigns a photon to an unambiguous category, but is only possible if wavelength is known. (Some measurement techniques do not distinguish between detected wavelengths.) However, these two definitions often coincide since the electromagnetic radiation emitted by X-ray tubes generally has a longer wavelength and lower photon energy than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei. Occasionally, one term or the other is used in specific contexts due to historical precedent, based on measurement (detection) technique, or based on their intended use rather than their wavelength or source. Thus, gamma-rays generated for medical and industrial uses, for example radiotherapy, in the ranges of 6–20 MeV, can in this context also be referred to as X-rays.

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation.

It may also refer to:

• X-Ray Engine, a graphics engine used in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. videogame series
• Instruments (application) (formerly Xray), a performance visualizer built into Mac OS X v10.5
• X-Ray (Amazon Kindle), a reference tool incorporated in Amazon Kindle e-readers

• X-Ray (ballet), Peter Martins' 1994 ballet to John Adams' Violin Concerto
• X-ray (chess) or X-ray attack, a chess tactic
• X-Ray (comics), a fictional character appearing in material published by Marvel Comics
• X-Ray, a member of the hip hop group Monsta Island Czars
• X-Ray music, see Dub music

• The letter X in the NATO phonetic alphabet
• A code name for an event of Operation Sandstone, a nuclear weapon test series conducted by the United States in April 1948
• Landing Zone X-Ray, a landing zone in the Battle of Ia Drang

• X-Ray (book), the title of the "unauthorized autobiography" of Ray Davies, founding member of the Kinks
• XRay Magazine, a magazine based in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded by Stephen Novotni and Arie Vandenberg
• The Lady With the X-Ray Eyes, a 1934 absurdist fiction novel by Svetoslav Minkov
• X-Ray, a short-lived magazine associated with XFM radio in London

• XRAY Model Racing Cars, a high-end radio-controlled car company
• X-ray vision, the fictional ability of a character to see through outer layers of objects or clothing on people
• A character from the book Holes (novel)
• X-Ray is the only single from album Caution by Canadian band Left Spine Down.

X–Ray is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins to John Adams' 1994 Violin Concerto, commissioned jointly by the Minnesota Orchestra and City Ballet. The ballet premiere took place Tuesday, November 22, 1994, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center; since June 1995 it has been performed as the third movement of Martins' Adams Violin Concerto ballet.

X-Ray is the second single from Camouflage's fifth studio album Spice Crackers, released in 1996.

The single contains three different single versions of the song; the Soft Single Mix, which is essentially an edit of the album version, the Ronda Ray single mix, which simply adds some extra instrumentation to the Soft Single Mix, and the Tranceformer remix, which is a completely different take on the song and is the main single and video mix.

In chess, the term X-ray or X-ray attack is sometimes used (1) as a synonym for skewer. The term is also sometimes used to refer to a tactic where a piece either (2) indirectly attacks an enemy piece through another piece or pieces or (3) defends a friendly piece through an enemy piece.

The second usage is seen in the position at left, which arises from the Black Knights' Tango opening after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.a3 d6 5.Nc3 g6!? 6.e4 Bg7 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 9.Be3 e5 10.d5 Nd4! Authors Richard Palliser and Georgi Orlov, in their respective books on that opening, both note that Black's rook on e8 "X-rays" White's e-pawn through Black's own pawn on e5. If 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.Bxd4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Rxe4. The identical position is reached, except that White has not played a2-a3, in the King's Indian Defense after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Be3 Re8 9.d5 Nd4!

Of the position at right, arising from the Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense, Atanas Kolev and Trajko Nedev observe, "On f1 the king is X-rayed by the f8-rook". They analyze the possible continuation 22...f5 23.exf5 Bxf5 24.Nxf5 Rxf5 25.Qg4 Bg5 (exploiting the pin along the f-file) 26.Kg2? Bxf4 27.Nxf4 Rg5 28.Nxg6+ Kg7 and White resigned in Delchev-Kotanjian, Kusadasi 2006.

The position at left arose after 23...Qd8-h4! in Krasenkow– Seirawan, 34th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2000. Michael Rohde writes of Seirawan's 23rd move, "Holding things up through an x-ray on the pawn on d4." Black would respond to either 24.e5 or 24.exd5 with 24...Qxd4+.

Gerald Abrahams alludes to the X-ray concept, without using that term, when he cites the aphorism, "Put your rook on the line of his queen, no matter how many other pieces intervene." He writes, "That doggerel jingle incorporates some experience". A future world champion played in that manner in Rauzer– Botvinnik, USSR Championship 1933. Two moves before the position at right arose, Botvinnik had played 13...Rfd8, X-raying the white queen through the pawn on d6. Now Bernard Cafferty and Mark Taimanov suggest "15.Qf2 to get away from the 'X-ray' attack from the d8 rook". Instead, the game continued 15.Rac1 e5! 16.b3 d5!!, exploiting the queen's position on the same file as the rook and leading to a win for Botvinnik 13 moves later.

The position at left arose from the English Opening in the famous miniature Petrosian– Ree, Wijk aan Zee 1971 after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.cxd5 e4?? 7.dxc6 exf3 8.Qb3! Author Iakov Neishtadt cites the game as an example of an "X-ray". Black resigned because the white queen's X-ray of his pawn on b7, through Black's bishop on b4, wins a piece after, e.g., 8...a5 (or 8...Qe7) 9.a3 Bc5 10.cxb7.

The above examples all involve a latent attack along a file or rank. A latent attack along a diagonal has also been called an X-ray. The position at right arose in Dorfman– Tseshkovsky, 46th USSR Championship Tbilisi 1978. Cafferty and Taimanov write, "Black can use the 'X-ray' attack of his queen on the enemy king to break up the white bastions". Black exploited the X-ray along the b8-h2 diagonal and won quickly after 48...g5! 49.hxg5 h4! with a decisive attack. The game concluded 50.g6 Kxg6 51.Qa6+ Kg5 52.gxh4+ Kxf4 53.Qc4+ Ke3+ 54.Kh3 Kf2+ 55.Qxb3 Nxg5+! and White resigned in light of 56.hxg5 Qh8#.

The third usage is given by the American master and writer Bruce Pandolfini, who states that one usage of "X-Ray" is "a skewer defense along a rank, file, or diagonal" that "protects a friendly man through an enemy man in the middle along the same line of power". Jeremy Silman uses the term in the same way, illustrating "X-ray" with the two diagrams at left and right. In the diagram at left, White wins with the X-ray 1.Qxd8+! followed by 1...Rxd8 2.Rxd8+ (note how White's rook defended his queen through the Black rook on d5) Qxd8 3.Rxd8# or 1...Qxd8 2.Rxd5 Qf8 3.Rd8 and wins. In the diagram at right, White wins a pawn with 1.Nxb7!, when White's bishop on f3 defends the White knight on b7 through Black's bishop on d5. Silman states that the X-ray "takes advantage of pieces that appear to be adequately defended but really aren't".

Raymond Keene also uses the term in this way in analyzing Fischer– Bisguier, New York 1957. Discussing a possible variation that could have arisen in that game (see position at left), Keene writes that 28.Qxg5 (when the white queen defends against 28...Qxg2# through Black's queen on g4) "defends the mate—an 'X-ray motif', as Fischer once described it".

In Euwe-Loman, Rotterdam 1923 (diagram at right), White forced mate with 17.Qh8+! Bxh8 18.Rxh8#. Neishtadt writes of 17.Qh8+, "The X-ray! The bishop at b2 attacks the square h8 'through' the enemy bishop."

X-Ray is a reference tool incorporated in Amazon Kindle Touch and later models, the Kindle Fire tablets, the Kindle app for mobile platforms, Fire Phone and Fire TV.

General reference information is preloaded onto the Kindle device, so that when the feature is used, there is no need to access the Internet (which can disturb a user's experience). The information can range from encyclopedic content to information about actors featured in a film.

X-Ray lets users explore in more depth the contents of a book, to "get to its bones". Users can touch a word to launch either a dictionary definition or a more in-depth explanation provided by Wikipedia or Shelfari. X-Ray does not connect to the Internet to retrieve information. Instead, it accesses pre-loaded files with relevant information.

The function of X-Ray operates like a concordance, listing most commonly used character names, locations, themes, or ideas, which are sorted into the two main categories "People" and "Terms." Readers can use it to look up first occurrence of characters, which is often helpful in many-charactered novels.