Question: what can happens when we get x-rayed that can damage our bodys

Jonny Brooks-Bartlett answered on 13 Jun 2015:

This is a very good question.

So X-rays are just another form of light. We’re used to visible light that we can see with our eyes, which comes from the sun and light bulbs etc. Light is strange because we can describe it as a light wave or as a light particle (in fact everything we know of can be a wave or particle, even humans, but that’s getting into complicated physics that I don’t understand very well myself). For the damage process we find it easier to think of light as a particle. Imagine light rays coming at you as tiny little balls and each tiny ball contains a certain amount of energy. In science we call these balls “photons”. The difference between an X-ray light photon and a visible light photon is the amount of energy it carries. X-rays have much more energy than visible light.

So now we have to understand that our bodies (in fact all materials) are made up of atoms. An atom can be thought of as a large ball that contains two types of balls in its centre which we call neutrons and protons. Then there are much smaller balls that whiz around the large ball and these whizzing balls are called electrons.

So when you shine X-rays at our bodies the X-ray balls (photons) can interact with the whizzing balls (electrons). The X-ray photons have so much energy that they can kick the electrons out of their orbit and so the atom loses electrons. We call this ionization. So X-rays are ionizing radiation. When they kick out electrons they can change what certain things in our cells do. They can affect our DNA and cause cancer. They can cause burns and this is why X-rays can be dangerous if you are exposed to them long enough.

So at the hospital when they give you an X-ray they try not to expose you for too long and they wont give you an X-ray unless they really think you need one.

I hope that answers your question.