gamma

[gam-uh]

noun

1. the third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ).

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

3. the third in a series of items.

4. Astronomy.,  Gamma, a star that is usually the third brightest of a constellation.

   The third brightest star in the Southern Cross is Gamma Crucis.

5. a unit of weight equal to one microgram.

6. Physics.,  a unit of magnetic field strength, equal to 10− 5 gauss.

7. Photography.,  a measure of the degree of development of a negative or print.

8. Television.,  an analogous numerical indication of the degree of contrast between light and dark in the reproduction of an image in television.

9. Chiefly British.,  a grade showing that an individual student is in the third, or lowest, of three scholastic sections in a class.

gamma

¹

/ ˈɡæmə /

noun

1. the third letter in the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), a consonant, transliterated as g. When double, it is transcribed and pronounced as ng

2. the third highest grade or mark, as in an examination

3. a unit of magnetic field strength equal to 10 ^–5 oersted. 1 gamma is equivalent to 0.795 775 × 10 ^–3 ampere per metre

4. photog television the numerical value of the slope of the characteristic curve of a photographic emulsion or television camera; a measure of the contrast reproduced in a photographic or television image

5. (modifier)

   1. involving or relating to photons of very high energy

      a gamma detector

   2. relating to one of two or more allotropes or crystal structures of a solid

      gamma iron

   3. relating to one of two or more isomeric forms of a chemical compound, esp one in which a group is attached to the carbon atom next but one to the atom to which the principal group is attached

Gamma

²

/ ˈɡæmə /

noun

1. (foll by the genitive case of a specified constellation) the third brightest star in a constellation

   Gamma Leonis

Word History and Origins

Origin of gamma¹

From the Greek word gámma

Word History and Origins

Origin of gamma¹

C14: from Greek; related to Hebrew gīmel third letter of the Hebrew alphabet (probably: camel)

Example Sentences

LHAASO's hybrid detector array enables both the detection of high-energy gamma rays from cosmic accelerators and precise measurements of the cosmic rays that reach near-Earth space.

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The simulations also predict that these magnetic processes produce bursts of gamma rays during black hole formation.

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The team's results, published on November 3 in PNAS, could help solve a major mystery about the Universe's missing gamma rays and its vast, invisible magnetic fields.

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New findings suggest that dark matter could once again be the missing piece in one of astronomy's longest-running puzzles: the strange excess of gamma rays glowing from the Milky Way's core.

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For years, astronomers have puzzled over a faint, widespread glow of gamma rays near the Milky Way's center.

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