| 1. | a photon of penetrating electromagnetic radiation (gamma radiation) emitted from an atomic nucleus. |
| 2. | a photon emitted by an electron as a result of internal conversion. |
| 3. | electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than approximately one tenth of a nanometer. |
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.
gamma ray n.
Electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus of an atom by radioactive decay and having energies in a range from ten thousand (104) to ten million (107) electron volts.
