[kingcharles]

When I was in jail I had a cellie who imported drugs from China. They were always shipped inside defunct microwave ovens. I wondered if it was just because it looked like a harmless kitchen appliance or because the microwave provided shielding from an x-ray scan?

[habi]

This really depends on the X-ray machine, a powerful x-ray source might easily penetrate a small appliance.

A faraday cage/bag does not protect x-ray since it ‘only’ blocks electromagnetic fields.

So I guess in the case you mention it’s more hiding in the insulation/empty space of an appliance.

[BenjiWiebe]

X-rays _are_ electromagnetic radiation.

[duskwuff]

Technically speaking, yes. But they're way off on the other side of the EM spectrum, giving them dramatically different properties. You can shield against radio with a shell of any conductive material -- even a wire mesh for longer wavelengths -- but X-rays are only absorbed by high-atomic-weight atoms, like lead.

[habi]

Of course the are, but - if I'm correct - they don't produce an electromagnetic field. And are not shielded by a bit of mesh wire (I work with desktop microCT machines...).

[refurb]

X-rays are the exact same thing as any other electromagnetic radiation, just at a different frequency.

Generally a mesh can block an EMR signal if the holes are < 1/2 wavelength in size. X-rays have nanometer wavelengths so the mesh wouldn’t even be visible to the naked eye.