gamma radiation


noun
  1. electromagnetic radiation emitted by atomic nuclei; the wavelength is generally in the range 1 × 10 –10 to 2 × 10 –13 metres

  2. electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength emitted by any source, esp the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with a wavelength less than about 1 × 10 –11 metres

Words Nearby gamma radiation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use gamma radiation in a sentence

  • During the first few seconds, a nuclear blast sprayed gamma radiation and neutrons in all directions.

    Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet | Harold Leland Goodwin
  • There is an increasingly heavy gamma radiation, but no more cosmic rays.

    The Answer | Henry Beam Piper

Cultural definitions for gamma radiation

gamma radiation

[ (gam-uh) ]


The most energetic radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum; it has the lowest wavelength and the highest frequency in the spectrum. Gamma rays are sent out by some radioactive nuclei. Unlike alpha radiation and beta radiation, gamma rays are not made up of particles, and they have no charge.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.