Is it radioactive???

There are a few things to consider with x-ray photography.

First of all, for an ankle, the size of the x-ray beam is quite small (e.g. they would only need to get a photograph of your foot, ankle, and part of your calf. If you had your iPod in a cargo or hip pocket, you shouldn't have to worry -- the device would have been far away from the beam of x-rays passing through your ankle.

Second of all, x-rays don't *make* things radioactive -- not in that sense. X-rays are a form of radiation called electromagnetic radiation (you can also call them electromagnetic waves). Visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, radio waves, microwaves, and so forth, are all forms of electromagnetic waves, differing in their properties. X-rays are powerful enough to pass through your body (unlike light) but they are (eventually and almost completely) absorbed by denser materials and they don't "stay" around after they've been generated. They're essentially just another form of energy.

Without going into too much detail, the kind of persistent radioactive change that you'd experience in order for your iPod to "become radioactive" would only occur if your iPod spent a lot of time near a radioactive element giving off radiation in the form of emitted particles (e.g. alpha or beta radiation). This would only be possible if you walked near a nuclear reactor, nuclear weapon, or the kind of radio-isotope found in medical diagnostics). Because these substances "give off" the more harmful forms of radiation (along with various forms of electromagnetic radiation) as they decay, they are always shielded with lead, steel, or several feet of concrete (and always kept sealed from public access).

Basically, if there was a risk of getting near something that would make your iPod radioactive, you would be kept away by signs, barriers, and security guards. Unless you make a habit of waltzing through the town of Pripyat, you'll be fine.

The lead shield you wore was intended to protect the rest of your body from any stray x-rays that might have been emitted from the machine if it was malfunctioning, but it's not something you really have to worry about. However, you really should listen to the medical staff and technicians when they tell you to "empty your pockets." For an x-ray, MRI, or any other imaging scan you may need to take, you really should make sure you just have that thin cotton gown and nothing else.

In the case of an MRI, for example, your iPod might not only get fried, but the magnetic forces involved could cause it to be ripped out of your pocket and smack you in the teeth.

Your iPod is fine and so are you,. The amount of x-ray radiation is very minimal plus if you have ever flown in a airplane you had a larger dose of radiation than when you had your x-ray.