If you point a perfect spectrometer that spans the Xray UV a

If you point a perfect spectrometer that spans the X-ray, UV and visible light range at the sky during a sunny day, you will find significant gaps of intensity in the UV range, and almost no intensity in the X-ray range and higher frequency (definitely no gamma rays!). In the context of atomic transitions, what is happening here?

Solution

Ultraviolet rays very strongly absorbed by electron jumps. So there is significant intensity gaps

While the quantum energy of X rays and gamma rays are so high that atoms cant absorb and remain intect. So there is no significant intensity gap.

when you move further up into the x-ray region of the spectrum, you become transparent again, because most of the mechanisms for absorption are gone. You then absorb only a small fraction of the radiation, but that absorption involves the more violent ionization events. Each portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has quantum energies appropriate for the excitation of certain types of physical processes. The energy levels for all physical processes at the atomic and molecular levels are quantized, and if there are no available quantized energy levels with spacings which match the quantum energy of the incident radiation, then the material will be transparent to that radiation, and it will pass through. If electromagnetic energy is absorbed, but cannot eject electrons from the atoms of the material, then it is classified as non-ionizing radiation, and will typically just heat the material.