Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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.
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 have an electric charge and mass, and thus are quite likely to interact with other atoms in their path.
The incoming gamma ray effectively knocks one or more neutrons, protons, or an alpha particle out of the nucleus. [1] The reactions are called (γ,n), (γ,p), and (γ,α), respectively. Photodisintegration is endothermic (energy absorbing) for atomic nuclei lighter than iron and sometimes exothermic (energy releasing) for atomic nuclei heavier ...
Gamma decay as a separate phenomenon, with its own half-life (now termed isomeric transition), was found in natural radioactivity to be a result of the gamma decay of excited metastable nuclear isomers, which were in turn created from other types of decay. Although alpha, beta, and gamma radiations were most commonly found, other types of ...
It has a half-life of 30 years, and decays by beta decay without gamma ray emission to a metastable state of barium-137 (137m Ba). Barium-137m has a half-life of a 2.6 minutes and is responsible for all of the gamma ray emission in this decay sequence. The ground state of barium-137 is stable. The photon energy (energy of a single gamma ray) of ...
Beta particles are much less penetrating than gamma radiation, but more penetrating than alpha particles. High-energy beta particles may produce X-rays known as bremsstrahlung ("braking radiation") or secondary electrons as they pass through matter. Both of these can cause an indirect ionization effect.
Two-photon physics, also called gamma–gamma physics, is a branch of particle physics that describes the interactions between two photons. Normally, beams of light pass through each other unperturbed. Inside an optical material, and if the intensity of the beams is high enough, the beams may affect each other through a variety of non-linear ...
Gamma rays are better absorbed by materials with high atomic numbers and high density, although neither effect is important compared to the total mass per area in the path of the gamma ray. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is ionizing in its shortest wavelengths but is not penetrating, so it can be shielded by thin opaque layers such as sunscreen ...