X-Ray Sources

X-ray was the name given by W C Roentgen to the highly penetrating rays which emanated when high-energy lectrons struck a meta ltarget. On 8 November 1895, he noted for the first time this phenomenon and on 28 December 1895, he astonished the scientific world with his preliminary report "Ueber eine neue Artvon Strahlen" (along with experimental radiograph sand by the X-ray image of his wife's hand) given to the president of the Wurzburg Physical-Medical Society. A few weeks later, CHF Muller was able to construct in his Hamburgfactory the first commercial X-ray tube for one of the local hospitals. This was a milestone of what was to become a major technical industry. X-ray technology is one of the most important inventions of the nineteenthcentury. It plays a major role in our daily life. X-ray isnowadays one of the most powerful tools to investigate hard and soft matter, hence the necessity to develop new sources to achieve more high-intensity beams.