gamma ray

From Glossary of Meteorology

(Or γ-ray, γ ray, γ radiation, gamma radiation.) Electromagnetic radiation originating from transitions between energy levels of atomic nuclei.
A nucleus formed as a consequence of beta or alpha emission sometimes exists briefly in an excited energy level and makes a transition to a lower energy level accompanied by emission of a gamma ray photon with energy equal to the difference between the energies of the initial and final levels. Gamma ray energies from radioactive decay lie in the approximate range 10 keV–6 MeV. Gamma rays are also emitted in nuclear reactions. The boundary between x-rays and gamma rays is fuzzy, the latter term being most often used for electromagnetic radiation of nuclear origin.
Boorse, H. A., and L. Motz 1966. The World of the Atom. Vol. I, . 446–448.

Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact [email protected]. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.