Mechanism
The heart of an X-ray generator is the X-ray tube. Like any vacuum tube, the X-ray tube contains a cathode, which directs a stream of electrons into a vacuum, and an anode, which collects the electrons. The anode in an X-ray tube is made of tungsten, molybdenum, or copper; when electrons collide with the anode, about 1% of the resulting energy is emitted as X-rays, with the remaining 99% released as heat.
A cooling system is necessary to cool the anode; many X-ray generators use water or oil recirculating systems.
Read more about this topic: X-ray Generator
Famous quotes containing the word mechanism:
“The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)
“A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)
“The law isn’t justice. It’s a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answer. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)