Bremsstrahlung
from class:
College Physics I – Introduction
Definition
Bremsstrahlung, or braking radiation, is the radiation emitted when a charged particle, such as an electron, is decelerated by another charged particle, typically an atomic nucleus. It produces a continuous spectrum of photon energies.
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5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
- Bremsstrahlung is significant in X-ray production and high-energy astrophysical processes.
- The intensity of bremsstrahlung radiation increases with the charge of the decelerating particle and its velocity.
- Bremsstrahlung contributes to background radiation in X-ray tubes and particle accelerators.
- It occurs due to the conservation of energy when a charged particle loses kinetic energy during deceleration.
- Quantum mechanically, bremsstrahlung can be described by the interaction of an electron with the Coulomb field of a nucleus.
Review Questions
- What happens to an electron's kinetic energy during bremsstrahlung?
- How does the charge of a decelerating particle affect bremsstrahlung radiation?
- Why does bremsstrahlung produce a continuous spectrum rather than discrete lines?
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