What results in hard X-rays during an X-ray process?

Hard X-rays are produced in an X-ray tube primarily due to high photon energies that result from large potential differences across the tube. When electrons are accelerated by a significant potential difference, they gain kinetic energy that is proportional to the voltage. As these high-energy electrons collide with a target material, they undergo interactions that result in the emission of X-rays.

In particular, when the energy of the incoming electrons is sufficiently high, they can knock inner shell electrons out of the atoms in the target material. This leads to a characteristic emission of X-rays (characteristic X-rays) or can also lead to the generation of bremsstrahlung radiation, which contributes to the continuous spectrum of X-rays. Both of these processes result in the emission of high-energy X-rays, which are classified as hard X-rays. Hard X-rays have shorter wavelengths and higher energy compared to soft X-rays, which are produced at lower potentials.

The other options focus on lower energy interactions or processes that do not contribute to the production of hard X-rays. For example, low potential differences would fail to generate the necessary energy for the higher energy X-ray production, while small atomic nuclei collisions and quick transitions within low-energy states do not directly contribute to hard X-ray generation in the context