Many of you may be wondering what a Gamma ray is but i'm here to clear that up for you. Gamma rays are one of the most dangerous forms of light we have found so far. Their frequency range is from 10x10^20Hz - 10x10^24Hz. They also have a very small wave length. Their wave length is between 3/100ths - 3/1000ths nanometers. Because they have no electric charge and no rest mass, their interaction with matter is fairly weak. Gamma rays originate from black holes, pulsars, neutron stars, and other things that we haven't understood quite yet(NASA Space Place).
These bursts tend to occur when stars die out and don't give any light anymore, causing them to let out a lot of radiation.
Sound scary? They are! Although Gamma rays might be helpful in some ways, they can be very dangerous in others. Gamma rays kill living cells, and you can not feel or see these rays hitting you. Also, to make it even worse, they can be inhaled or injested with food or water. If this happens the Gamma rays can be exposed to anything inside the body such as nerves or organs. The good thing about these rays is, that because they kill cells, they are sometimes used to kill cancer cells in bodies. This way they are improving people's health instead of destroying it all together. Gamma rays are sometimes put to work in order to improve people's lives by sterilizing medical equipment.
Because Gamma rays are so smalls and high above the Earth's surface, there aren't very many ways to read their energy level. Gamma rays can not get through our atmosphere(which is a relief because a lot of people, plants and animals would be killed). Because they can not get through the Earth's atmosphere, it is pretty hard to measure them.
One way that has been shown useful is to have large balloons put up at an altitude around 40km. These balloons hold many telescopes and electronics and the baloons can hold up to around 2000 kilograms(NASA).
Though there are scary and good things about Gamma rays, there are also a few cools things that you could know. There was a very large extinction over 440 million years ago on earth. Some are lead to believe that it was Gamma Rays that came through the Earth's atmosphere and killed almost everything. Which starts to make people wonder... if it happened once, couldn't it just happen again? Some don't believe that that is even true, but with more research, the answer may soon be discovered. Did you know that that Gamma rays have over 10,000 times more energy than visible light? Well it's true. Gamma rays
have more energy than any other energy source now discovered. Many more things can be discovered and uncovered about Gamma rays, but some shall just remain unanswered. Remember that these rays can be deadly, so if you see a sign that looks like the one here at the right, remember to not go anywhere near that. Most radiation sickness is from Gamma rays, so be careful while having fun and be aware!
Picture Sources:
• Image 1: Courtesy of NASA. Gamma Ray Burst. N.d. JPEG file.
• Image 2: Filling the balloon for a flight of the GRIP payload . N.d. NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. • Image 3: Tri-foil. N.d. JPEG file.
Information Sources:
•Mehta, Aalok. "PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Gamma-Ray Burst Visible to Naked Eye."
National Geographic 21 Mar. 2008: n. pag. National Geographic. Web. 31Mar. 2010.
•"The Magic Gamma Ray Window." NASA Space Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
•"The History of Gamma-ray Astronomy." NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. N.p., 3
Feb. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. •"Module 3: Interaction of Radiation with Matter." University of Toronto
Environmental Health and Safety. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
Environmental Health and Safety. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
8 comments:
I think you did a very good job. You explained everything about the rays in an easy and understandable way. I think you did a very nice job with the information given that there is very little out there about gamma rays because we don't know much about them. Also, I like how your blog is very original; your voice comes out with very little influence from other sources. Great Job!
Anne, you did a really good job with this post! You it explained it so Icould understand it, even though i didn't know much about gamma rays. But i know a lot more information now! I also likes how you quoted someone and hw you explained how they could be harmful to a person's health. Good job with this!
You did a really good job with your blog. Like Nathan said you can deffinitly hear your voice in this blog. I just had one question, if gamma rays can't get through the Earths atmosphere how are doctors to get hold of them to use them to get rid of cancer cells?
Anne, I really like your blog. You explained Gamma Rays very well. Before I read this, I did not know that Gamma rays were used in killing cancer cells, which was very interesting. Your pictures were helpful in understanding Gamma rays. Good Job!
I liked how it was easy to understand but still scientific and informative. It's interesting how something so dangeerous can be used to kill cancer cells. Good job Anne!
Very good job, Anne. You went really in depth into your topic but still kept it simple and easy to understand. It's especially impressive since we know so little about gamma rays. Very good job, Anne!
You did a good job with this post, Anne. I also did not know that Gamma rays were something that could actually kill someone. I just have one question. Can Gamma rays be used for an appliance or device that humans could use without getting negatively affected?
Anne, your blog was very informative and easy to read. You explained everything thoroughly and in easy to under terms. I learned a lot about gamma rays that I didn't know before! Good job!
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