Bremsstrahlung

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Bremsstrahlung is electromagnetic radiation produced when a charged particle is accelerated or decelerated by an electric field, particularly when an electron is deflected by an atomic nucleus. The German name means braking radiation.

Unlike line radiation from transitions between discrete atomic energy levels, bremsstrahlung generally produces a continuous spectrum. The maximum photon energy is limited by the kinetic energy of the incident particle.

Bremsstrahlung is generated in X-ray tubes when high-speed electrons strike a metal target. It also occurs in hot plasmas, particle accelerators, cosmic sources, and interactions of beta radiation with matter.

The intensity and spectrum depend on particle energy, nuclear charge, density, and geometry. Bremsstrahlung is important in medical imaging, radiation shielding, astrophysics, plasma diagnostics, and high-energy physics.

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• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsstrahlung