When we refer to science fiction we all knew the famous Hulk, he gained his powers by getting exposed to gamma rays plus the serum his father injecting him since he was a small boy at a very young age. But what are gamma rays?
Gamma rays are streams of electro-magnetic waves. They are given off from elements such as radium, as the elements disintegrate and become radioactive.
In 1899 the British physicist Ernest Rutherford began a study of radioactivity. He found three types of radiation which he called alpha, beta and gamma rays. Alpha rays were stopped by a thin sheet of paper, beta rays could get through several millimeters of aluminium, and gamma rays could pierce quite thick pieces of lead.
Alpha rays travel at up to 12,000 miles a second, beta rays from 80,000 to 180,000 miles a second, and gamma rays at 186,000 miles a second, the speed of light.
Gamma rays have proved very helpful in medicine and industry. These rays are also given off by radioactive isotopes obtained as by-products in production processes. They can produce radiographs of forgings and the seams of boilers and other pressure vessels, where freedom from flaws is vital.
But how powerful are gamma rays? What is a gamma-ray burst? Watch the video.
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