GAMMA RAYS

Member :

 Putri Aura Arum Sari

 Putri Ageng Nur Hartanty
 Qisthi Efrilia Agus Putri
 Salma Billah Attaqy

Class : X1-1
 1. Definiton
A gamma ray or gamma radiation
(symbol γ or ), is penetrating electromagnetic
radiation arising from the radioactive decay of
atomic nuclei. It consists of photons in the
highest observed range of photon energy. Paul
Villard, a French chemist and physicist,
discovered gamma radiation in 1900 while
studying radiation emitted by radium. In 1903,
Ernest Rutherford named this radiation gamma rays based on their relatively
strong penetration of matter; he had previously discovered two less
penetrating types of decay radiation, which he named alpha rays and beta
rays in ascending order of penetrating power.
Gamma rays from radioactive decay are in the energy range from a few
keV to ~10 MeV, corresponding to the typical energy levels in nuclei with
reasonably long lifetimes. The energy spectrum of gamma rays can be used
to identify the decaying radionuclides using gamma spectroscop.
Natural sources of gamma rays originating on Earth are mostly as a
result of radioactive decay and secondary radiation from atmospheric
interactions with cosmic ray particles. However there are other rare natural
sources, such as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes that produce gamma rays
from electron action upon the nucleus. Notable artificial sources of gamma
rays include fission, such as occurs in nuclear reactors, as well as high energy
physics experiments, such as neutral pion decay and nuclear fusion.
Gamma rays and X-rays are both electromagnetic radiation and they
have a considerable overlap in the electromagnetic spectrum; so that over a
range of energies they cannot be differentiated by detection only. To
distinguish them their origin must be known, and in the case of X-rays, the
origin is outside the nucleus due to electron interaction. Terminology varies
between scientific disciplines, and in astrophysics gamma rays are
conventionally defined as having photon energies above 100 keV and are the
subject of gamma ray astronomy, whilst radiation below 100 keV is classified
as X-rays and is the subject of X-ray astronomy. This convention stems from
the early man-made X-rays, which had energies only up to 100 KeV, whereas
many gamma rays could go to higher energies. A large fraction of
astronomical gamma rays are screened by Earth's atmosphere and must be
detected from spacecraft.
 Gamma rays are ionizing radiation and are thus biologically hazardous.
However, despite their high penetration power, for radiation protection
purposes they are regarded as less damaging than alpha and beta particles
which have greater ionising effect.

2. History of Discovery

1. Antonie Henri Becquerel in 1896

He discovered that uranium

minerals could expose a photographic
plate through another material.
Becquerel presumed that uranium
emitted some invisible light similar to
X-rays, which were recently
discovered by W.C.Roentgen in
1895. He called it “metallic
phosphorescence”.

He exposed potassium uranyl sulfate to sunlight and then placed

it on photographic plates wrapped in black paper, believing that the
uranium absorbed the sun’s energy and then emitted it as x-rays.
Becquerel decided to develop his photographic plates anyway. To his
surprise, the images were strong and clear, proving that the uranium
emitted radiation without an external source of energy such as the sun.
Becquerel had discovered radioactivity.

2. Marie Curie

The term radioactivity was

actually coined by Marie Curie, who
together with her husband Pierre, began
investigating the phenomenon recently
discovered by Becquerel.
 The Curies extracted uranium from ore and found that the left
over ore showed more activity than the pure uranium. They concluded
that the ore contained other radioactive elements. This led to the
discoveries of the elements polonium and radium. It took four more
years of processing tons of ore to isolate enough of each element to
determine their chemical properties.

3. Ernest Rutherford

In 1899 Ernest Rutherford doing an

experiment, he let trough the radioative
rays from uranium between two polar
( not similar).

The result was so suprise him, the

radioactive ways divided into two part.
The part which loaded by potitive electric
was alfa and the part which loaded by
negative electric.

4. Paul Ulrich Villard

A French chemist and physicist, work

in chemistry at the Ecole Normale
Supérieure in Paris. He discovered gamma
radiation, and know that gamma was
unloaded in 1900.

Villard investigated the radiation from

radium salts that escaped from a narrow
aperture in a shielded container onto a
photographic plate, through a thin layer of
lead that was known to stop alpha rays. He was able to show that the
remaining radiation consisted of a second and third type of rays. One of
those was deflected by a magnetic field (as were the familiar "canal
rays") and could be identified with Rutherford's beta rays. The last type
was a very penetrating kind of radiation which had not been identified
before.
 Villard was a modest man and he did not suggest a specific name
for the type of radiation he had discovered. In 1903, it was Ernest
Rutherford who proposed to call Villard's rays gamma rays because
they were far more penetrating than the alpha rays and beta rays
which he himself had already differentiated and named (in 1899) on the
basis of their respective penetrating powers. The name stuck.

3. Mechanism of Making The Wave

Gamma rays rise from inti atom which have instability, because
that atoms have energy that doesn’t match with it’s groundstate.
Gamma’s energy which rise between one radioisotop with the other
radioisotop are different because of every radionuclide have spesific
emission.

Gamma rays can be find in entire world, that gamma rays walked
through the entire world in a big zone, which in the end it’s absorbed by
the earth atmosphere. We should know that length of the waves are
different at the electromagnetic waves will penetrate atmosphere in
different depth too.
 IONISING RADIATIONS emitted when unstable atomic nuclei
undergo radioactive decay

Experiment to show there are at least three types of emissions from radioactive
substances.

Left to right - alpha particles, gamma rays and beta particles

The radioactive emissions become separated in a strong electromagnetic field

because alpha particles (+2) and beta particles (-1) have different charges, so go in
opposite directions in electric or magnetic fields. Gamma photons (rays of
electromagnetic radiation) have no charge (0) and go straight on to the detector
(photographic plate, electronic screen, ionisation effect - electronic signal). The beta
particles are deflected more because they have a much smaller mass than alpha
particles (for more details see table below). Beta particles are so easily deflected
that in a magnetic field they might spiral around!
 Two simple diagrams (above & below) to show the penetration of alpha
particle radiation, beta particle radiation and gamma radiation (for more
details see table below).

Type of Nature of Other Penetrating Ionising

radiation the radiation nuclear power (and power - the
emitted & Symbols speed), and ability to
formation,
symbol what will remove
structure,
block it electrons
relative mass,
electric (more dense from atoms
charge material, to form
more positive
radiation is ions, the
absorbed
process is
BUT smaller
called
mass or
ionisation
charge of
particle,
more
penetrating)

a helium Low Very high

nucleus of 2 penetration, ionising
protons and 2 slowest speed power, the
Alpha particle
neutrons, (but still biggest mass
radiation
mass = 4, ~10% speed and charge of
charge = +2, of light!), the three
is expelled at biggest mass radiation's,
high speed and charge, the biggest
from the stopped by a 'punch' in
few cm of air
nucleus ripping off
or thin sheet
electrons from
of paper
molecules,
other ions are
formed
 high kinetic Moderate Moderate
energy penetration ionising
e– beta electrons, (~90% speed power, with a
beta minus,
minus particle mass = of light), smaller mass
beta –
radiation 1/1850, 'middle' and charge
charge = -1, values of than the alpha
expelled when charge and particle, but
a neutron mass, most still quite
changes to a stopped by a good at
proton in the few mm of knocking off
nucleus metals like electrons from
aluminium, molecules -
will travel moderate
quite a few ionisation
metre in air

high KE Theoretically Theoretically

positive as above, as above, BUT
electron called BUT, the when electron
beta plus, beta
a positron, positron is the meets
+
mass = antiparticle of positron,
1/1850, the electron. it kapow !
charge = +1, is identical to
expelled when an electron e+ + e–
a proton but opposite ==> 2 high KE
changes to a in charge.
neutron in the Destroyed
nucleus. when it meets actually called
an electron annihilation !
(see on right)
producing two
high energy
gamma ray
photons, so it
doesn't get
very far.
 very high Very highly The lowest
frequency penetrating ionising power
electromagnet (100% speed of the three,
Gamma
ic radiation, of light !), gamma
radiation
mass = 0, smallest mass radiation
charge = 0, and charge carries no
gamma and greatest electric
emission often speed, most charge and
accompanies stopped by a has virtually
thick layer of
alpha and no mass, so
steel or a very
beta decay not much of a
thick layer of
'punch' when
concrete, but
colliding with
even a few cm
an atom to
of dense lead
remove an
doesn't stop
all of it! electron, weak
gamma rays ionisation
can pass
through many
m of air.

neutron, mass Highly Can't ionise

n neutron = 1, charge = penetrating directly, but
radiation 0, (more than they are
fundamental alpha & beta absorbed by
particle of the & sometimes the nuclei of
nucleus gamma). atoms they
However, pass through.
neutrons are This can make
most readily the atom
absorbed by unstable -
light nuclei so radioactive,
hydrogen-rich hence other
materials like nuclear
water, radiations
poly(ethene) may then be
plastic and produced,
concrete are producing an
used for 'indirect
neutron ionisation'
radiation effect. So
 shielding. The neutron
nuclei formed radiation is as
often emit dangerous as
gamma any of the
radiation so others.
an extra thick
protective
layer of lead is
needed
around a
neutron rich
environment !

4. Application Of Gamma Rays

1. In The Medicine
a. Gamma rays are used in
medicine to kill and treat certain
types of cancers and tumors. A
series of Gamma rays emitted
directly on cancer cells to be
destroyed. This procedure is
known as Gamma-Knife Surgery.
Radiosurgery is surgery using
radiation,that is, the destruction
of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation
rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation
therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually used to treat
cancer. Radiosurgery was originally defined by the Swedish
neurosurgeon Lars Leksell as "a single high dose fraction of
radiation, stereotactically directed to an intracranial region of
interest". In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), the word
"stereotactic" refers to a three-dimensional coordinate system
that enables accurate correlation of a virtual target seen in the
patient's diagnostic images with the actual target position in the
patient.

When used outside the CNS it may be called stereotactic body

radiation therapy (SBRT) or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy
(SABR).
 Technological improvements in medical imaging and computing
have led to increased clinical adoption of stereotactic
radiosurgery and have broadened its scope in the 21st century.
The localization accuracy and precision that are implicit in the
word "stereotactic" remain of utmost importance for radiosurgical
interventions. Stereotactic accuracy and precision are
significantly increased by using a device known as the N-localizer.
It was invented by American physician and computer scientist
Russell Brown, and has become widely used in several
stereotactic surgical and radiosurgical systems.

b. Gamma rays can be used to strerilise all sorts of medical

equipment to make sure that patiens do not become infected by
bacteria. Even a tiny amount of bacteria can grow to become a
life threatening illness for a post operative patient.

2. In the Industry

Gamma rays emitted from a radioisotope Co-60 or Ir-192 is used

to inspect a material without damaging the material using radiographic
techniques.