ˈeksˈreɪ n. & v. (also x-ray) --n. 1 (in pl.)
electromagnetic radiation of
short wavelength,
able to pass
through opaque bodies. 2 an
image made by
the effect of X-rays on a photographic
plate,
esp.
showing the
position of bones etc. by
their greater
absorption of the rays. --v.tr.
photograph,
examine, or
treat with X-rays. øX-ray
astronomy the
branch of astronomy
concerned with the X-ray emissions of
celestial bodies. X-ray
crystallography the
study of crystals
and their
structure by
means of the diffraction of X-rays by the regularly spaced atoms of a
crystalline material. X-ray
tube a
device for generating X-rays by accelerating electrons to
high energies and causing
them to
strike a
metal target from which the X-rays are emitted. [transl. of G x-Strahlen (pl.) f. Strahl ray, so called
because when discovered in 1895 the
nature of the rays
was unknown]