The Determination of X-ray Energy Distributions by the Absorption Method

The Jones-Silberstein method of determining the spectral distribution of the radiation from an X-ray tube is summarised. 2. Its self-consistency is examined experimentally and discussed. 3. Values of absorption data for aluminium, copper and tin resulting from a survey of published material are tabulated, and formulæ are fitted to the values of μ so obtained. 4. The Jones-Silberstein method is extended to cover those cases in which radiation characteristic of the target material is present. 5. The variation with voltage of the ratio of characteristic radiation to continuous radiation is given for the case of tungsten. 6. The accuracy of the method is discussed.