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A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei.It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically shorter than those of X-rays.
is about 662 keV. These gamma rays can be used, for example, in radiotherapy such as for the treatment of cancer, in food irradiation, or in industrial gauges or sensors. 137 Cs is not widely used for industrial radiography as other nuclides, such as cobalt-60 or iridium-192, offer higher radiation output for a given volume.
Gamma radiation detected in an isopropanol cloud chamber. Gamma (γ) radiation consists of photons with a wavelength less than 3 × 10 −11 m (greater than 10 19 Hz and 41.4 keV). [4] Gamma radiation emission is a nuclear process that occurs to rid an unstable nucleus of excess energy after most nuclear reactions. Both alpha and beta particles ...
Gamma rays, at the high-frequency end of the spectrum, have the highest photon energies and the shortest wavelengths—much smaller than an atomic nucleus. Gamma rays, X-rays, and extreme ultraviolet rays are called ionizing radiation because their high photon energy is able to ionize atoms, causing chemical reactions. Longer-wavelength ...
This radiation is registered and the chemical composition of the sample can be determined from the analysis of the measured spectrum. By measuring the energy of the characteristic radiation lines, it is possible to determine the proton number of the chemical element that emits the radiation, and by measuring the number of emitted photons , it ...
The gamma rays emitted from radium 226, accounting for 4% of the radiation, are harmful to humans with sufficient exposure. Gamma rays are highly penetrating and some can pass through metals, so Geiger counters or a scintillation probe are used to measure gamma ray exposures when monitoring for NORM.
Gamma radiation is eventually absorbed as it penetrates a dense material. Lead is good at absorbing gamma radiation, due to its density. The hazard from contamination is the emission of ionizing radiation. The principal radiations which will be encountered are alpha, beta and gamma, but these have quite different characteristics.
Very-high-energy gamma ray (VHEGR) denotes gamma radiation with photon energies of 100 GeV (gigaelectronvolt) to 100 TeV (teraelectronvolt), i.e., 10 11 to 10 14 electronvolts. [1] This is approximately equal to wavelengths between 10 −17 and 10 −20 meters, or frequencies of 2 × 10 25 to 2 × 10 28 Hz.