Unbeknownst to Villard and his cohorts in the early 1900s, the key difference between gamma rays and alpha/beta particles is that gamma rays are a form of light, ...

Gamma radiation does not consist of particles but as short wavelength, high energy electromagnetic radiation emitted from unstable nuclei. It is normally emitted alongside alpha or beta radiation.

Such unstable atoms are called “radioactive atoms”. When radioactive atoms decay, they release energy in the form of ionizing radiation (for example alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays or ...

When alpha, beta, or gamma rays pass through the gas in the tube, it can ionize an atom and create a free electron. This electron is then attracted to the positive voltage of the central wire.

Keywords Wilhelm Röntgen, X-rays, cathode rays, fluorescence, Henri Becquerel, uranium, radioactivity, Marie Curie, polonium, radium, Ernest Rutherford, alpha rays, beta rays, gamma rays ...

By determination of the end-points of the distributions, a rough measure is given of the energy of the gamma-rays. Recently Jordan and Bell2 have published some measurements of that kind.

After emitting an alpha or beta particle, the nucleus will often still be ‘excited’ and will need to lose energy. It does this by emitting a high energy electromagnetic wave called a gamma ray.