Jul 30, 2009 — See The Economist
Most electronic devices have moved into the era of silicon chips and other solid-state technology. Not X-rays. The machines used to generate them still rely resolutely on vacuum tubes. But that will change shortly if Otto Zhou of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has his way. Zhou and colleagues are bringing X-radiography into the world of modern electronics. In doing so, they hope to create X-ray machines that are smaller, simpler and able to produce more detailed pictures. These could be used to enhance security screening at airports, to allow engineers to check the structure of materials more easily, and especially, to enhance medical images in a way that would improve cancer therapy.
