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X‐ray telescope mirrors are angled such that arriving photons glance off their surfaces. true or false

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Final answer:

True. X-ray telescope mirrors are angled so that arriving photons can glance off their surfaces and be reflected.

Step-by-step explanation:

True. X-ray telescope mirrors are angled in such a way that arriving photons glance off their surfaces, allowing for reflection. This is because X-rays have shorter wavelengths and higher energy than RF and light, making them mainly absorbed when incident perpendicularly to the medium. However, at small glancing angles, X-rays can be reflected, similar to how a rock will skip on a lake at a small angle of incidence.

The mirrors in X-ray telescopes, such as the Chandra Observatory, are designed to focus X-ray rays at a specific point. The mirrors are smooth and consist of a glass ceramic base with a thin metal coating. They are shaped and aligned to create a barrelled pathway, allowing X-rays to ricochet off the mirrors and focus on a spot.

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