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What is X-ray spectroscopy?
(The_XRS_Instrument_clip1.mov)

Movie
Movie (1 MB)
Run Time: 25 sec

VIDEOAUDIO
At the beginning of this clip we see Dr. Kevin Boyce as he explains what a spectrum is.

We see a plot of a "Typical X-ray Spectrum", with "Energy (keV)" on the horizontal axis, and "Relative Intensity" on the vertical axis. The horizontal axis has values ranging from 1 to 8. The spectrum shows peaks that are labeled with symbols for the chemical elements (e.g. Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe).

We then see a graphic of the electromagnetic spectrum, spanning from radio to infrared to optical to X-rays to gamma rays.

KEVIN: The XRS is primarily a spectrometer. And that is to say, it looks at the spectrum of photons that comes from a given source. The spectrum will tell you how hot it is, what it's made of, how fast it's moving. So, if you put light through a prism, you get a spectrum of colors - same thing is true of X-rays. There's higher energy - shorter wavelength and lower energy - longer wavelength.


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