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X-ray (Science) Posted November 20, 2009 @ 2:29 pm In Letters,X | No Comments X-ray is an electromagnetic ray of very short wavelength. It is used in a variety of scientific fields, including medicine [1] to produce images of internal parts of the human body, astronomy [2] to observe celestial objects by finding and measuring their X-ray emissions, and chemistry [3] to study the crystal structure of substances through the diffraction pattern produced by X-rays. The term “X-ray” is also used as an expression [4] in common speech to indicate a deep and revealing look into something, but without the aid of any electromagnetic rays. |
"At the Veterans Affairs medical facility in Washington, doctors wheel stands with wireless Panasonic Corp. Toughbook laptops into patients’ rooms, putting in information and getting electronic signatures for procedures. They can call up patient records, order prescriptions, peer at a recent X-ray or graph a chart of risk factors and medications to decide treatments."
—Kristin Jensen, "Vets Loving Socialized Medicine Show Government Offers Savings," Bloomberg News, October 2, 2009.
"The new guidelines reversed a longstanding recommendation that women in their 40s automatically undergo an annual mammogram, an X-ray used to detect breast cancers, and stated that women aged 50 to 74 could reduce the frequency of such screenings to once every two years, from once a year."
—Shirley S. Wang, Jonathan D. Rockoff, and Barbara Martinez, "Group Issues Clarification on Mammography Advice," The Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2009.
"The changes should speed up boarding of international flights bound for the United States while still increasing security beyond the standard X-rays of carry-on bags and metal-detector checks of all passengers."
—Eric Lipton, "U.S. Intensifies Air Screening for Fliers From 14 Nations," The New York Times, January 4, 2010.
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URL to article: http://www.ealmanac.com/2041/letters/x-ray-science/
URLs in this post:
[1] medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_radiography
[2] astronomy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_astronomy
[3] chemistry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_crystallography
[4] expression: http://www.ealmanac.com/2208/letters/x-ray-expression/
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