Originally Posted by Wheatfield
X-Ray damage is cumulative. Even slow speed films will be damaged if they get enough passes.
This is in theory true. What I have never found is a spectral response curve for X-ray damage to films. That would be very interesting, as a simple intercontinental flight might cause more damage (exposition to high altitude radiation) than a simple X-ray scan. This is at least, what security people tell you at the airport to calm you down and to avoid any handsearching…
The point with any kind of radiation is: Some does expose the film, others don't. It is dependend on the energy of the radiation and the most energetic radiation might not be the one, that causes the damage. High energy radiation might just "go through" the film layer, without any interaction.
The question is, what energy (wavelength)) does a X-ray scanner use, what energy level do we have at high altitudes (that is the easiest to answer) and to which kind of wavelength does the film respond the most? Anybody got any info on that?
Ben