X-rays are a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. X-rays and gamma rays are differentiated on the origin of the radiation, not on the wavelength, frequency, or the energy. X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the nucleus. X-rays have wavelengths in the range of about 1 nanometer (nm) to 10 picometer (pm), frequencies in the range of 10^-16 to 10^-20 Hertz (Hz) and photon energies between 0.12 and 120 kilo electron Volt (keV). The energy of rays increase with decreased wavelengths. X-rays with energies between 10 keV and a few hundred keV are considered hard X-rays. The cutoff between soft or hard X-rays is around a wavelength of 100 pm.
Because of their short wavelength, X-rays interact little with matter and pass through a wide range of materials. These interactions occur as absorption or scattering;; primary are the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering and, for ultrahigh photon energies of above 1.022 mega electron Volt (MeV), pair production.
X-rays are produced when high energy electrons struck a metal target. The kinetic energy of the electrons is transformed into electromagnetic energy when the electrons are abruptly decelerated (also called bremsstrahlung radiation, or braking radiation) similar to the deceleration of the circulating electron beam in a synchrotron particle accelerator. Another type of rays is produced by the inner, more tightly bound electrons in atoms;; frequently occurring in decay of radionuclides (characteristic radiation, gamma ray, beta ray). The energy of an X-ray is equivalent to the difference in energy of the initial and final atomic state minus the binding energy of the electron.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered this type of rays (also called Roentgen-rays) in 1895 and realized that X-rays penetrate soft tissue but are absorbed by bones, which provides the possibility to image anatomic structures; the first type of diagnostic imaging was established. Radiographic images are based on this difference in attenuation for tissue and organs of different density. Today ionizing radiation is widely used in medicine in the field of radiology.

See also Exposure Factors, X-Ray Tube, and X-Ray Spectrum.

Absorbers consist of material that stops ionizing radiation. For example, lead, steel and concrete attenuate x-rays. Alpha particles and most beta particles can be stopped or absorbed by a sheet of paper or thin metal.
The absorption depends on the atomic number, density, thickness, etc. of the used material.
The interactions between the radiation and the absorber are three major processes: photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, and pair production.

See also Absorption.

Arthur Holly Compton discovered the scattering of x-ray photons when they collide with graphite atoms and demonstrated the relationship between the deflection ankle of the x-ray photon and its energy loss (Compton shift). He becomes in 1927 awarded with the Nobel prize for the 'Compton Effect' discovery.

See Compton Effect.

Scattered radiation is caused by interaction of the primary radiation with matter. The interaction with matter could cause a change in direction (scattering) and a reduction in energy.
From a radiation protection point of view, scattered radiation is assumed to come primarily from interactions of primary radiation with tissues of the patient.