I know UV emission has been studied from x-ray excitation of molecules. I don't know if it's been seen before in these salts, or after gamma ray or beta particle excitation.

Dear William Peters, What you have mentioned is well known in literature as luminescence which is visible to naked eyes when X-rays are incident on certain materials.

In the case of XRF source such as Rb XRF source the elusive UV dominant optical radiation was detected for the first time along with Rb X-rays from the Rb salt (source) itself using a bare photomultiplier tube. Most importantly, Rb X-rays have caused the optical radiation from the Rb salt itself. From this insight it is understood that Rb X-rays have caused optical emission from within the same excited atom by a previously unknown phenomenon.. Hence the detected optical radiation was regarded as previously unknown optical emission from Rb XRF source. Moreover, the optical counts exceeded the expected Rb X-ray counts. From all these points of view, do you agree with me that the newly detected UV dominant optical radiation is an optical emission and a discovery since previously none has predicted or experimentally detected optical radiation from XRF source.

DETAILED EXPLANATION:

Variable Energy X-ray Source AMC2084,U.K. is known to provide Rb X-rays from Rb XRF source present as rubidium salt. However, the manufacturer never claimed UV, visible and near infrared radiation emissions from Rb XRF source.

M.A.Padmanabha Rao,PhD(AIIMS) has first detected UV dominant optical emission from along with X-rays from Rb, Ba, and Tb XRF (X-ray fluorescent) sources present as Rb, Ba and Tb salts, when optical emission remained elusive to previous users of Variable Energy X-ray Source ( AMC 2084 (U.K.).

Now it is known as M.A.Pdmanabha Rao's Discovery 2: UV DOMINANT OPTICAL EMISSION FROM XRF SOURCES PRESENT AS SALTS

W.C. Roentgen has discovered X-rays from discharge tube in 1895. These X-rays known as bremsstrahlung radiation or continuous X-rays are widely used in Hospitals for diagnostic purposes. However, light emission following X-rays from X-ray tubes remained elusive to previous researchers. In the later years, C.G. Barkla has discovered characteristic X-rays of elements. These X-rays are called XRF (X-ray fluorescence). Variable Energy X-ray Source (AMC 2084, U.K.) of the size of a lemon used in the current study was manufactured with an intend to provide Rb, Ba and Tb X-rays with different energies from Rb, Ba and Tb XRF sources present as Rb, Ba and Tb salts on incidence of intense gamma beam from 241Am. The source also provides Cu, Ag, and Mo X-rays with different energies from Cu, Ag, and Mo XRF sources present as Cu, Ag, and Mo metals. Light emission remained elusive to previous researchers from any XRF source.

NEW TO X-RAY PHYSICS :

Characteristic X-rays (XRF) causing UV dominant optical emission by a previously unknown atomic phenomenon is new to X-ray physics. Of all the sources tested, the maximum UV dominant optical intensity has come from Rb XRF source. The low 0.013336 MeV Rb X-ray energy could cause the maximum UV (99.62%) intensity, while VIS (0.37% ), and NIR (0.01%) radiation intensities remained very low in the gross light intensity. Likewise, Ba X-rays from Ba XRF source, and Tb X-rays from Tb XRF source present as Ba, and Tb salts respectively also showed the UV dominant optical emission]. Since both X-ray tube and XRF source emit basically X-rays, optical emission is expected even from X-ray tubes used in Hospitals for diagnostic purposes. As both X-ray and optical spectra can now be detected simultaneously, the data available opens up wide range of applications in future.

REFERENCES:

M.A.Padmanabha Rao

UV dominant optical emission newly detected from radioisotopes and XRF sources,

Braz. J. Phy., 40, no 1, 38-46,2010.

Brazilian Journal of Physics

Discovery, Volume 4, Number 10, April 2013

Page on discovery.org.in