what X-rays of my teeth at the dentist show and why it has to be radioactive and what the heavy apron does
In: Physics
X-ray works by making these tiiiiny little balls really really excited.
They make these special balls have so much energy, they bounce around faster and faster in a box.
This box has a hole so that these little balls fly thru with super duper speed.
The thing is these balls are really tiny. So small that they can go thru you!
Things like teeth are really thick so actually not a lot go thru there. They just bounce off.
But things like your skin is actually quite full of openings that you can’t see.
There’s this special thing that when hit by these balls, they turn black.
So on one side, they shoot these balls and opposite side they receive these balls.
They shoot tons and tons of these!
What comes out is like a drawing. Things that are thick and dense like your teeth come out white because the balls couldn’t get thru! Skin will mostly be black because the ball did go mostly thru.
This gives the dentist a way to look at your teeth that’s inside your body that you can’t actually see.
They give you a apron, it’s made of something called lead.
Lead is special because it’s really dense. Almost no balls can go thru.
The bit of scary things is these balls have so much energy that when it comes zooming thru your body, it can sometimes hurt the little guys in you.
But don’t worry, it’s a very small amount.
But just to be super safe, remember when I said the balls bounce off the teeth?
That apron is there to block those bouncing balls.
The apron is usually there to protect your intimate area. Why? Because the little guys there are like little babies. They are still growing. And growing ones can get more hurt by these fast balls more than the little guys in other parts of your body because they are more grown up.
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