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 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.
Water vapor concentration for this gas mixture is 0.4%. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere, responsible for 70% of the known absorption of incoming sunlight, particularly in the infrared region, and about 60% of the atmospheric absorption of thermal radiation by the Earth known as the greenhouse effect. [25]
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 ...
Displayed background gamma radiation level is 9.8 μR/h (0.82 mSv/a) This is very close to the world average background radiation of 0.87 mSv/a from cosmic and terrestrial sources. Cloud chambers used by early researchers first detected cosmic rays and other background radiation. They can be used to visualize the background radiation
Mean free path of gamma rays (very high energy and ultra high energy) based on photon energy (expressed in electron-volts on horizontal axis). Mean free path is expressed on a log scale of megaparsecs (i.e. "–1" indicates 0.1 megaparsecs, "3" equals 1,000 megaparsecs, etc.).
However, as is the case with X-rays, materials with a high atomic number such as lead or depleted uranium add a modest (typically 20% to 30%) amount of stopping power over an equal mass of less dense and lower atomic weight materials (such as water or concrete). The atmosphere absorbs all gamma rays approaching Earth from space.
Absorptions bands in the Earth's atmosphere created by greenhouse gases and the resulting effects on transmitted radiation. In spectroscopy, an absorption band is a range of wavelengths, frequencies or energies in the electromagnetic spectrum that are characteristic of a particular transition from initial to final state in a substance.
In meteorology and climatology, global and local temperatures depend in part on the absorption of radiation by atmospheric gases (such as in the greenhouse effect) and land and ocean surfaces (see albedo). In medicine, X-rays are absorbed to different extents by different tissues (bone in particular), which is the basis for X-ray imaging.