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By Steven Handley and Emily Greenway

Gamma rays are the smallest type of radiation and are denoted by the Greek letter gamma. They are produced by radioactive decay and other high-energy processes like supernova explosions. The first gamma ray source discovered was radium in 1900 by Paul Villard, while studying more powerful radiation emitted from radium compared to previously discovered alpha and beta rays. Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light, produced by the hottest regions of the universe as well as the decay of radioactive materials and destruction of atoms during violent events like supernovas.

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21 views5 pages

By Steven Handley and Emily Greenway

Gamma rays are the smallest type of radiation and are denoted by the Greek letter gamma. They are produced by radioactive decay and other high-energy processes like supernova explosions. The first gamma ray source discovered was radium in 1900 by Paul Villard, while studying more powerful radiation emitted from radium compared to previously discovered alpha and beta rays. Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light, produced by the hottest regions of the universe as well as the decay of radioactive materials and destruction of atoms during violent events like supernovas.

Uploaded by

PippinLink
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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By Steven Handley and Emily Greenway

What are Gamma Rays?


Gamma Rays are the smallest type of radiation in the
Spectrum and are denoted by the Greek letter: Y.

How are Gamma rays found?
Natural sources of gamma rays on Earth include
gamma decay from naturally occurring radioisotopes,
and secondary radiation from atmospheric
interactions with cosmic ray particles.
Information on Gamma rays
The first gamma ray source to be discovered historically
was the radioactive decay process called gamma decay. In
this type of decay, an excited nucleus emits a gamma ray
almost immediately upon formation (it is now understood
that a nuclear isomeric transition, however, can produce
inhibited gamma decay with a measurable and much
longer half-life). Paul Villard, a French chemist and
physicist, discovered gamma radiation in 1900, while
studying radiation emitted from radium. Villard knew that
his described radiation was more powerful than previously
described types of rays from radium, which included beta
rays, first noted as "radioactivity" by Henri Becquerel in
1896, and alpha rays, discovered as a less penetrating form
of radiation by Rutherford, in 1899.
How are Gamma Rays produced?
Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of light and
are produced by the hottest regions of the universe.
They are also produced by such violent events as
supernova explosions or the destruction of atoms, and
by less dramatic events, such as the decay of
radioactive material in space. Things like supernova
explosions (the way massive stars die), neutron stars
and pulsars, and black holes are all sources of celestial
gamma-rays.

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