Verified Solution • 2025–26 Session moderate

QPages 393-394: Q8: HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2 X-Rays Pages 393-394: Q8 Solution: The X-ray beam emerging from an X-ray tube

⚠️ Common Exam Traps & Conceptual Pitfalls

Students often reverse the cutoff concept, assuming the X‑ray tube has a maximum wavelength limit; in reality the accelerating voltage imposes a *minimum* wavelength $\lambda_{\min}=hc/eV$, and any longer wavelength can appear. Remember that the continuous bremsstrahlung spectrum extends from $\lambda_{\min}$ toward larger $\lambda$, not the other way round.

The X-ray beam emerging from an X-ray tube

Multiple Choice Options

  • A is monochromatic
  • B has all wavelengths smaller than a certain maximum wavelength
  • C has all wavelengths greater than a certain minimum wavelength
  • D has all wavelengths lying between a minimum and a maximum wavelength

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** (c) has all wavelengths greater than a certain minimum wavelength. **Step-by-Step Explanation:** The X-ray spectrum has a cutoff wavelength __min. All wavelengths are greater than or equal to __min.

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