Question

In the process of internal conversion, a nucleus decays from an excited state to a ground state by giving the excitation energy directly to an atomic electron rather than emitting a gamma-ray photon. Why can this process also produce $\mathit{x}\mathbf{-}$ray photons?

Short answer

$K-$Because the emitted atomic electron collides with shell electron releases enough energy to escape from its level or escape from the atom. The release in energy causes a vacancy in the $K-$shell and an electron available in the outer falls into the vacancy causing a much lower level.

Step-by-step solution

Define the energy.

The energy $E$of a photon is inversely proportional to the wavelength $\lambda$of photon and directly proportional to the frequency $f$of wave.

$$\begin{gathered} E=hf \\ E=\frac{hc}{\lambda } \end{gathered}$$

Where, the value of Planck’s constant $h=6.626\times {10}^{-34}J·s$.

Explanation.

$K-$When the emitted atomic electron collides with shell electron releases enough energy to escape from its level or escape from the atom. The release in energy causes a vacancy in the $K-$shell and an electron available in the outer falls into the vacancy causing a much lower level.

Therefore, emits the energy as a photon, and produce $x-$rays.