It is, as said, analogous (but bad analogy), but not the same as a spark.

The highly positive ion needs to collide with, say, a water molecule, and then can "rip off" one of the electrons from the water molecule. The water molecule is then left one electron poorer and highly excited. The excitation is radiated away as an X-ray photon.

So it is a very very close contact process between an ion and a molecule, no sparks, no arches, and definitely no energy to crack rock or whatever.

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