PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

X-ray vision: Seeing through the mystery of an X-ray emissions mechanism

2024-12-04
(Press-News.org) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Since the 1960s, scientists who study X-rays, lightning and similar phenomena have observed something curious: In lab experiments replicating these occurrences, electrons accelerated between two electrodes can be of a higher energy than the voltage applied. According to Penn State researchers, this defies an assumption in physics that the energy of the electrons should correspond with the voltage applied. Despite the decades-long awareness of this apparent contradiction, researchers couldn’t figure out why this was happening.  

Recently, a team of Penn State researchers used mathematical modeling to explain the underlying mechanism at play. They published their results in Physical Review Letters. 

“In these lab experiments, voltage is applied between two electrodes, which are electrical conductors. Then, electrons, which are negatively charged particles, are accelerated through a gap, which could be gas or a vacuum,” said Victor Pasko, professor of electrical engineering at Penn State and corresponding author of the study. “The energy that the electrons can gain should correspond with the voltage applied, but in all these experiments, energies were exceeding that voltage by a factor of two or three, which was a puzzle.”  

Through mathematical modeling, Pasko and his team demonstrated that an energy feedback process is responsible for this occurrence.  

According to Pasko, when the electrons interact with the material of the electrode, they emit X-rays, which are made of photons — massless, charge-less particles that comprise light. Some of these photons propagate backward, enabling more electrons to release from the other electrode. A small group of these electrons have energy corresponding to the original energy. Then they accelerate again, and the process continues through several cycles. Pasko and his team modeled this very high energy process.  

Pasko said that their model also helped explain why electrodes of different shapes and materials produced this effect to varying degrees. 

“We see that we get maximum effect when we have flat electrodes, and a minimized effect when the electrodes are needle-like,” Pasko said. “This makes sense, because the large surface areas of the flat electrodes are good for the interaction between the electrons and photons and the way they bounce back and forth. When the surface area is reduced, the effect is minimized.” 

The researchers also examined via simulation and modeling how the phenomenon emerges with different materials. 

“Tungsten is the standard material used for X-ray production, and we know it’s a good material for this. It is a robust material for electron production used in current in X-ray machines,” Pasko said. “Our study went through many additional materials, and, using our model, we were able to summarize properties of materials that lead to maximum effects.”  

The researchers said that their findings may be useful for the development of new ways of producing X-rays in the future. Specifically, they said that the work may stimulate new research on the production of energetic electrons from solid materials, potentially making X-rays machines faster and more light weight and compact. 

Sebastien Celestin, the University of Orleans, France, and Anne Bourdon, CNRS and Ecole Polytechnique, France, were co-authors on the paper. The U.S. National Science Foundation supported this research in part. 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

AI fact checks can increase belief in false headlines

AI fact checks can increase belief in false headlines
2024-12-04
Although many tech companies and start-ups have touted the potential of automated fact-checking services powered by artificial intelligence to stem the rising tide of online misinformation, a new study led by researchers at Indiana University has found that AI-fact checking can, in some cases, actually increase belief in false headlines whose veracity the AI was unsure about, as well as decrease belief in true headlines mislabeled as false. The work also found that participants given the option to view headlines fact checked by large language model-powered AI were significantly more likely to share both true and false news – but only ...

Poor health outcomes—including early deaths—linger for decades for those who lived in ‘redlined’ neighborhoods

2024-12-04
Redlining—a mid-20th-century federal government practice of denying home loans in African American and other minority neighborhoods—has long been associated with poor health outcomes, including disparate overall mortality rates among racial and ethnic groups. The term gets its name from the practice by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC, operational from 1933 to 1954) of color-coding maps based on each neighborhood’s level of mortgage creditworthiness, with A being the most creditworthy and D—noted with a red line—the least. Now, a new study led by a researcher with the Texas ...

Abnormal prenatal blood test results could indicate hidden maternal cancers

2024-12-04
WHAT: Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found previously undetected cancers in 48.6% of pregnant people who had abnormal results for prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing used to screen for chromosomal disorders in the fetus. Cancers included colorectal, breast, lung and pancreatic cancers, as well as lymphoma, cholangiocarcinoma and renal carcinoma. The screening test analyzes placental DNA fragments circulating in the maternal bloodstream to identify an extra chromosome or to determine ...

Study finds people on anti-obesity medications cut both weight and alcohol consumption

Study finds people on anti-obesity medications cut both weight and alcohol consumption
2024-12-04
DETROIT (Dec. 04, 2024)—Losing weight with anti-obesity medications (AOM) also resulted in decreased alcohol consumption for about half of the participants in a new study appearing in the current issue of JAMA Network Open. The research, led by Lisa Miller-Matero, PhD, an associate scientist and Associate Director of Health Services Research at Henry Ford Health, adds to a growing body of research that suggests medications such as Ozempic or Wegovy could be adapted to treat substance use disorders. “This was different ...

ETSU secures $900k defense grant

2024-12-04
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the ETSU Research Corporation over $900,000 as part of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, an investment that will help create new opportunities to foster regional innovation in sustainable industrial manufacturing in the Appalachian region. “Our goal is to enhance the prosperity of our region by connecting local innovation with opportunities in global emerging markets,” said Eric Jorgenson, vice president of evelopment for the ETSU Research Corporation. “This project is another key part of the foundation of a robust biomanufacturing ecosystem in ...

ETSU researcher earns grant to build flood dashboard using generative AI

2024-12-04
An East Tennessee State University researcher is developing a cutting-edge dashboard using generative artificial intelligence to assist in monitoring flooding in Central Appalachia.  The pilot project, titled "Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Automated Climate Resilience Dashboards: A Case Study on Flood Monitoring in Central Appalachia," has recently secured $20,000 in funding from the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Lab.  Dr. Qian Huang from ETSU’s Center for Rural Health and Research, in collaboration with Dr. ...

AI-enabled analysis of images meant to catch one disease can reveal others

2024-12-04
With the help of an AI tool, computed tomography (CT) scans taken originally to look for tumors or bleeding or infections, also revealed calcium buildup in arteries, a sign of worsening cardiovascular disease.   This is the result of a new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and an example of a new trend in “opportunistic screening,” wherein radiologists repurpose existing medical images to diagnose illnesses beyond what the scan was originally designed to find. Presented at the annual Radiological Society of North America ...

Key objections to collecting immigration status data in national health surveys

Key objections to collecting immigration status data in national health surveys
2024-12-04
Nativity—characterized by place of birth, duration of residence in the host country, citizenship and immigration status—greatly influences the health of foreign-born individuals in the United States (U.S.). Despite this, many national health surveys omit questions about these dimensions of nativity, particularly immigration status. This omission limits the ability to assess health disparities across diverse immigrant subgroups and develop evidence-based policies and targeted interventions. To navigate this limitation, researchers rely on proxy measures or imputations ...

Clinical trial of device aims to induce ovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Clinical trial of device aims to induce ovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome
2024-12-04
Physicians at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in Oklahoma City are leading a national clinical trial to help women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-related infertility who want to become pregnant. The trial, called REBALANCE, studies the safety and effectiveness of an investigational device developed by May Health that is designed to restore ovulation disrupted by PCOS. OU Health reproductive endocrinologist Karl Hansen, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the OU College of Medicine, is leading the trial for ...

Natural ‘biopesticide’ against malaria mosquitoes successful in early field tests

2024-12-04
An experimental bacteria-derived biopesticide is highly effective in killing malaria-carrying mosquitoes, including those that have developed resistance to chemical pesticides, according to initial field tests led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The biopesticide is a powder made from the dead cells of a common soil-dwelling bacterial species. The researchers showed that the biopesticide efficiently kills both ordinary and chemical-pesticide-resistant mosquitoes when included in standard baits. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Plant doctor: An AI system that watches over urban trees without touching a leaf

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

Scientists: the beautiful game is a silver bullet for global health

Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health

High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models

A router for photons

Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

[Press-News.org] X-ray vision: Seeing through the mystery of an X-ray emissions mechanism