X-rays comprise of

X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, characterized by high energy and short wavelengths [t1][t3]. Unlike alpha particles (protons) or beta particles (electrons) emitted during radioactive decay, X-rays consist of weightless packets of energy called photons [c1][t2][t8]. They occupy a specific region of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between ultraviolet light and gamma rays, with wavelengths ranging from approximately 0.01 nm to 10 nm [t1][t2]. While X-rays are often produced by accelerating electrons that strike a metal target, the resulting radiation itself is not composed of those electrons but is the energy released as photons when the electrons decelerate or undergo energy level transitions [t3]. As electromagnetic waves, X-rays exhibit properties such as polarization, diffraction, and refraction, and they travel at the speed of light [t2][t4]. Therefore, they are fundamentally electromagnetic radiations rather than subatomic particles like protons, neutrons, or electrons.

Sources

1. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546155/
2. [2] https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html
3. [3] https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/ionising-radiation/x-ray
4. [4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/short-wavelength-x-rays
5. [5] https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radiation-basics
6. [6] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 5: Environmental Pollution > Radioactivity: > p. 82