Electrons to Images

D’Arcy Little

Electrons fly across a vacuum tube…
Smash into a Tungsten anode.
X-rays are born,
with a fate to explore structures beyond.
Directed towards a human form…
scattered,
absorbed by calcium in bones,
transmitted by air in lungs,
checked by soft tissues and disease.
An image created by x-rays remaining,
in black and white and shades of grey.
Read by another human form…
Sitting silently in the dark.
Diagnosing structure and function,
health and illness,
life and death.

The Science

The poem was inspired by the intersection of Art and Science in my job as a radiologist. An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is used to study the internal structure of the body. X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons through a potential difference in a vacuum tube. A stream of electrons is called a current (I), just like the electric current in the electric circuit in your house. A potential difference is the difference in the amount of energy that electrons have between two points in the circuit. This potential difference measured in volts (V) is the energy that is transferred to the electric circuit (anode) when the electrons pass through. After leaving the tube, when X-rays strike an object, some of the x-rays will be absorbed, scattered, or transmitted through the object. The X-rays that are transmitted hit a photographic plate or electronic detector and produce an image that the radiologist can study to help diagnose a patient’s condition. In essence, X-rays use structures at the subatomic level (electrons) to visualise patients at the macroscopic level of organs and tissues.

The Poet

Dr. D’Arcy Little (he/him) is a radiologist, forensic radiologist, medical writer, medical editor, medicolegal consultant, and former family physician, living in Toronto, Canada. He loves science and takes joy in the intersection of art and science. He likes to write poetry in his spare time and is particularly fond of Haiku. D’Arcy’s wife, Catherine, is a teacher and children’s book author. She also writes poetry and together they share a jammed poetry shelf in the library.

Next poem: Entropy by Don Herzberg