What action should you take to lighten a duplicated radiograph that is too dark?

To lighten a duplicated radiograph that is too dark, the appropriate action would be to decrease the exposure time during the radiographic process. This is because reducing the exposure time lowers the total amount of radiation that the film is exposed to, resulting in a lighter image.

When the exposure time is decreased, the radiograph captures fewer x-rays, which reduces the blackness of the film. It's essential to understand that increasing exposure time yields a darker radiograph since more radiation reaches the film, thus darkening the image. Similarly, increasing development time would intensify the dark areas on the film, making it even darker. Reducing the distance of the film from the source of radiation can also lead to a darker image since the intensity of the radiation increases as the source gets closer.

Thus, the action of decreasing exposure time aligns with the goal of producing a lighter radiograph and effectively addresses the issue of overexposure in the imaging process.