X-rays are produced when

Question

Image below highlights jugular foramen. Which of the following structures do not pass through the marked structure “A”?

Answer 1

This question checks the basic working of an X-ray tube, and where inside it the X-rays actually come from. Let's look at each option.

Electron beam strikes the nucleus of the atom: A direct hit on the nucleus is not what happens. X-rays form when an electron swings close to a nucleus and is deflected and slowed by its field, not from a collision with the nucleus itself.
Electron beam strikes the anode: The anode is the target electrode, usually tungsten, that the accelerated electrons crash into. This impact converts kinetic energy into heat and, for a small share, into bremsstrahlung and characteristic X-rays. This is the correct source.
Electron beam reacts with the electromagnetic field: There is no such external field reaction in standard X-ray tube operation, so this does not describe the real mechanism.
Electron beam strikes the cathode: The cathode is where electrons are boiled off from a heated filament, it is the source of the beam, not its target, so no X-rays are made there.

Since X-rays are generated at the point of impact of the accelerated electrons, which is the anode, that is the correct choice.

Let's summarize:

The cathode releases electrons, the anode is what they strike.
X-rays come from the sudden deceleration of electrons at the anode (bremsstrahlung) and from inner-shell electron transitions there (characteristic radiation).

So X-rays are produced when the electron beam strikes the anode.

Answer 2

This question checks the basic working of an X-ray tube, and where inside it the X-rays actually come from. Let's look at each option.

Electron beam strikes the nucleus of the atom: A direct hit on the nucleus is not what happens. X-rays form when an electron swings close to a nucleus and is deflected and slowed by its field, not from a collision with the nucleus itself.
Electron beam strikes the anode: The anode is the target electrode, usually tungsten, that the accelerated electrons crash into. This impact converts kinetic energy into heat and, for a small share, into bremsstrahlung and characteristic X-rays. This is the correct source.
Electron beam reacts with the electromagnetic field: There is no such external field reaction in standard X-ray tube operation, so this does not describe the real mechanism.
Electron beam strikes the cathode: The cathode is where electrons are boiled off from a heated filament, it is the source of the beam, not its target, so no X-rays are made there.

Since X-rays are generated at the point of impact of the accelerated electrons, which is the anode, that is the correct choice.

Let's summarize:

The cathode releases electrons, the anode is what they strike.
X-rays come from the sudden deceleration of electrons at the anode (bremsstrahlung) and from inner-shell electron transitions there (characteristic radiation).

So X-rays are produced when the electron beam strikes the anode.

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