Perhaps you had the first guess that X-rays would damage electronic devices. But no, X-rays do not harm electronic devices. The situation is much different than that.
First of all, after having a little knowledge about X-rays, let’s look at why you should remove your electronic devices such as computers or tablets before going through the X-ray device.
What are these “X-rays”?
X-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation similar to visible light, except they have a much shorter wavelength and a much higher frequency. A single X-ray particle is just a “photon” (the basic unit of light, which includes electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves).
But it has more energy than a photon of visible light. This increased energy allows X-rays to pass through objects such as plastic, skin, and tissue, but not enough to pass through bones or metamaterials.
If X-rays can pass through matter, why do we have to take our computer out of the bag?
It can be difficult for a laptop to see beyond while the X-ray image shows what’s inside the bag. For example, your computer’s battery may be very large and dense.
Thus, smuggled goods such as guns, explosive devices, knives or drugs can be hidden under dense materials such as batteries, and your laptop can act as a curtain for these items while passing through the X-ray device.
In short, this is one of the set of security measures taken at the airport. Presumably, many possible cases have been avoided in this way so far.
Prior to a 1989 case, such a procedure did not exist.
Until the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1989, no one cared too much about electronics in hand luggage. It turned out that the bomb that destroyed that plane and killed 270 people was hidden inside an electronic device.
After this incident, it was considered to ban electronic devices in the cabin, but instead it was decided to pass electronic devices much more carefully than X-ray. As a result, electronic devices were required to be removed at screening checkpoints.
Initially, this practice led to a dramatic increase in lost and found reports as passengers forgot their computers at security checkpoints. However, it has now become a routine procedure known to everyone.
33987
