47.4k views
1 vote
An increase in kilovoltage will have which of the following effects?

1. More scattered radiation will be produced.
2. The exposure rate will increase.

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

Increasing the kilovoltage in an X-ray system leads to more scattered radiation and an increase in the exposure rate, as higher energy photons are produced which have a greater interaction with matter.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the kilovoltage (kV) is increased in an X-ray system, two main effects are observed. Firstly, there will indeed be more scattered radiation produced. This happens because higher energy photons are more likely to interact with matter and undergo Compton scattering, which occurs when an incident X-ray photon ejects an electron from a substance and loses energy in the process, becoming scattered radiation.

Secondly, the exposure rate will increase due to the higher energy of the photons. Since the kilovoltage potential is directly related to the energy of the emitted photons (as per the relationship between voltage and electron energy), an increase in kV leads to the generation of higher energy X-ray photons which, in turn, can produce more intense radiation exposure.

User Mutexkid
by
7.2k points