X-rays
X-rays are types of electromagnetic radiation probably most well-known for their ability to see through a person's skin and reveal images of the bones beneath it. Advances in technology have led to more powerful and focused X-ray beams as well as ever greater applications of these light waves, from imaging teensy biological cells and structural components of materials like cement to killing cancer cells. X-rays are roughly classified into soft X-rays and hard X-rays. Soft X-rays have relatively short wavelengths of about 10 nanometers (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter), and so they fall in the range of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum between ultraviolet (UV) light and gamma-rays. Hard X-rays have wavelengths of about 100 picometers (a picometer is one-trillionth of a meter). These electromagnetic waves occupy the same region of the EM spectrum as gamma-rays. The only difference between them is their source: X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons, wherea...