A vacuum is a volume of space that is substantively empty of matter so that gaseous pressure is much less than standard atmospheric pressure.
A vacuum is used in the x-ray tube because otherwise the electrons would be stopped by air or any other gas. Unlike in closed (or sealed) x-ray tubes, in which the vacuum is permanent, open tube systems have to be outfitted with a vacuum pump for the purpose of creating vacuum during tube warm-up.

(m) The SI base unit of distance.
Definition: 1983 defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during the time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
The speed of light in a vacuum, c, is one of the fundamental constants of nature.

1 meter (m) is equal to approximately 39.370 079 inches (in)
1 meter is equal to approximately 3.280 840 feet (ft)
1 meter is equal to approximately 1.093 613 3 yard (yd)
1 square meter (m²) is equal to approximately 10.763911 square feet (ft²)
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
Smaller or larger units are, e.g.:
1 meter (m) = 1 000 millimeter (mm)
1 micrometer (µm) = 10^-6 meter (m)
1 nanometer (nm) = 10^-9 meter (m)
1 picometer (pm) = 10^-12 meter (m)
1 femtometer (fm) = 10^-15 meter (m)
1 kilometer (km) = 1 000 meter (m)
1 kilometer (km) = 0.62137 (statute) miles (mi)

See also System International.

(A or amp) The SI base unit of electric current.
Definition: Two parallel conductors, infinitely long and having negligible cross section should be placed 1 meter apart in a perfect vacuum. One ampere is the current that creates between them a force of 0.2 µN (micronewton) per meter of length.
One ampere represents a current flow of 1 coulomb of charge per second.
One ampere of current results from a potential distribution of 1 volt per ohm of resistance, or from a power production rate of 1 watt per volt of potential.
The unit is known informally as the amp, but A is its official symbol and is named for the French physicist André-Marie Ampère.
See also System International.

H.O. Anger developed the first gamma camera in 1957; introduced in 1958 it was made of a gunsight collimator, one NaJ crystal and seven vacuum tube photomultipliers.

See Gamma Camera.

(EMR) Electromagnetic radiation consists of an electric and a magnetic field component. All EMR travels in a vacuum at the speed of light. EMR is classified related to the frequency//length of the wave.
An EM wave consists of discrete packets of energy, named photons (quantization). The energy of the photons depends on the frequency of the wave. Planck-Einstein equation:
E = h * f
E (energy); h (Planck's constant); f (frequency)
EMR types include in order of increasing frequency//decreasing wavelength: radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x-rays and gamma rays. EMR contains energy and momentum, which may be imparted when it interacts with matter.

See Gamma Radiation.