X-rays absorbed produce what?

• A. Light
• B. Voltage
• C. Heat
• D. Current

Answer: (B)

X-ray energy that is absorbed is transferred to the atoms in the material and becomes thermal energy, so the absorber heats up. In diagnostic radiology, this heating is what constitutes the dose absorbed by the material. The energy from absorption isn’t turned into light or electrical voltage/current; voltage and current relate to how the X-ray beam is generated and detected, not to what happens when the X-rays are absorbed.