Bremsstrahlung is described as:

• A. Bremsstrahlung is produced when charged particles decelerate in the field of nuclei
• B. Bremsstrahlung is the emission of neutrons
• C. Bremsstrahlung is the fusion reaction
• D. Bremsstrahlung is the absorption of photons by atoms

Answer: (A)

Bremsstrahlung happens when a charged particle, typically an electron, is slowed or deflected by the electric field of a nucleus. That sudden deceleration changes the electron’s acceleration, and accelerating charges emit radiation; the emitted photons form the x-ray beam in a continuous spectrum. This process is the source of the bremsstrahlung portion of x-rays in an x-ray tube, where high-energy electrons lose energy as they pass near nuclei in the target material. It’s not about neutrons being emitted, it’s not a fusion reaction, and it’s not photons being absorbed by atoms—those describe entirely different phenomena.