Increasing kVp affects the x-ray beam by increasing the production of which photon wavelengths?

• A. Long wavelengths
• B. Short wavelengths
• C. Medium wavelengths
• D. No wavelengths

Answer: (B)

Raising kVp increases the maximum energy of the x-ray photons produced. Since photon energy and wavelength are inversely related (E = hc/λ), higher energy photons have shorter wavelengths. So the beam becomes richer in short-wavelength photons, with relatively fewer low-energy, long-wavelength photons and a spectrum that extends further toward higher energies.