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A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically shorter than those of X-rays.
Wavelength is inversely proportional to the wave frequency, [1] so gamma rays have very short wavelengths that are fractions of the size of atoms, whereas wavelengths on the opposite end of the spectrum can be indefinitely long.
Ultra-high-energy gamma rays are gamma rays with photon energies higher than 100 TeV (0.1 PeV). They have a frequency higher than 2.42 × 10 28 Hz and a wavelength shorter than 1.24 × 10 −20 m. The existence of these rays was confirmed in 2019. [ 1 ]
In 1910 British physicist William Henry Bragg demonstrated that gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation, not particles, and in 1914 Rutherford and Edward Andrade measured their wavelengths, finding that they were similar to X-rays but with shorter wavelengths and higher frequency, although a 'cross-over' between X and gamma rays makes it ...
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 ...
The MAGIC telescope is used to detect very-high-energy gamma rays. A very-high-energy gamma ray (VHEGR) is 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 ...
Non-linear inverse Compton scattering (NICS) is the scattering of multiple low-energy photons, given by an intense electromagnetic field, in a high-energy photon (X-ray or gamma ray) during the interaction with a charged particle, such as an electron. [16] It is also called non-linear Compton scattering and multiphoton Compton scattering.
New developments since the 2000s include the recognition of short gamma-ray bursts as a separate class (likely from merging neutron stars and not associated with supernovae), the discovery of extended, erratic flaring activity at X-ray wavelengths lasting for many minutes after most GRBs, and the discovery of the most luminous (GRB 080319B) and ...