X Ray direction

[StevieBoy]

Someone once told me they built a hospital with lead only in the x ray room walls due to the rays inability to travel vertically and therefore not needed in ceings or floors.
Is this crap? or true?
I have recounted the tale and was called a donkey.
Do I get to redeem myself??

[R1Geezer]

Complete boll0x. Xrays travel in all directions, being merely part of the invisible part of the specturm they are in fact light.

[block105]

they're not light as light is the visible part of the spectrum. They are electromagnetic radiation with a smaller frequency than visible light. However as they are both e.m. radiation they both move in all directions from a source.

[Tim123]

block105, make that higher frequency and shorter wavelength than visible light.

[jake-the-peg]

This may not be rubbish.

Remember that light will bounce off of a surface so when you switch on a light bulb you see the room because the light hits obects and is reflected to your eye.

X rays will not do this of course they will either go though or be absorbed but they will not bounce off of the object.

If the X ray source is directed like so:

http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Intro/x- ray-diagram.jpg

you would not need to shield the whole room.

[block105]

Yeah sorry, smaller (shorter) wavelength is what I meant.

[4candles]

X-rays are perfectly capable of travelling vertically, but, if a patient is being X-rayed, a horizontal beam will be fired at them.

If you shine a torch at a wall, you don't illuminate the ceiling or floor, if it's reasonably sharply focused - and I think we can assume that X-ray machines are similarly designed.

[StevieBoy]

OK so x rays can travel verically. Got that.
But do hospitals only take x rays horizontally???

[jake-the-peg]

That probably depends on the individual set up but it's a pretty fair guess they don't point them upwards so I can't see the need for shielding in the ceiling