Everything fades. However, old Xray films are the same as black-and-white photographic film. They last 100 years plus and counting. There is a big business in converting Xray films to computer files and then harvesting the film for the silver.
You must protect unexposed film. Excuse me just a moment while I wipe this film off of my eye. Who has NOT seen the Zapruder film?
Short version: the developer converts silver halide that was energized by light into black metallic silver. Unexposed halides are washed away by the fixer, leaving varying densities of black metallic silver in the black and white film. In the color process, intermediate steps replace the bms with dyes.
You will have to be more specific: black and white? color negative? color slide? Polaroid instant film? Do you mean how do the developing chemicals act on film? Broadly speaking, "chemicals" has more to do with development whereas compounds would apply to film. Films are coated in silver halides. When the film is exposed it has what is called " a latent image'. It stays like that until it is developed. Once the film is developed the silver halides turn into black metalic silver halides. At this point we have both on the film and we have to removed the unexposed and undeveloped silver halides. This is done by fixing the film using in and acid mixture that removes the unexposed halides and stops any further developing of the film. The film is then washed until the chemicals are removed. It is then dried. With colour films there are three layer of emulsion. Each layer is sensitive to a particular colour. The process is basically the same as above except that after the silver halides have been processed the colour chemicals are released on each layer by the chemical process.
Run it through the processor and the chemicals will strip the unexposed silver away and allow it to be collected in the filter.
X Ray film emulsions are sensitive to light.
between 0.12 and 0.20. As the film gets older the density will get higher. There is a standard out there that limits the usable film "base fog" density to 0.30.
Sodium thiosulphate (sulphate contains 4 oxygen atoms, thio-sulphate has one of these replaced by a sulphur atom). Dissolves away unexposed silver salts from photographic film or paper.
If the patient's hands are in the field of the xray they will appear on the film, so even if they are on the stomach they will appear as if they are over or near the spine. If someone has helped immobilise the patient for the xray, then their hands may appear on the film.
Lead appears white in an x-ray image. Its density prevents the x-ray beam from reaching the x-ray film leaving that part of the film unexposed (white).
Silver Strand - film - was created in 1995.
On the Silver Globe - film - was created in 1987.