Gamma Emission - Online Tutor, Practice Problems & Exam Prep

Gamma emission is a process where an atom in an excited state, such as thallium-204, emits a gamma ray—a high-energy photon that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Gamma rays have no mass or charge and are represented by the symbol:

$\frac{0}{0}\gamma$

or simply the gamma symbol. During gamma emission, the atom's nucleus remains unchanged, with the same mass number and atomic number; however, an electron transitions to a lower energy orbital, releasing energy in the form of a gamma ray. Gamma rays are characterized by their small size, low ionizing power, and high penetrating power, requiring thick lead or concrete shielding for protection. This type of emission often occurs alongside alpha or beta decay, but it does not alter the isotope itself, as it only involves a change in the electron's energy state.

Gamma Emission

Now gamma mission is unique because gamma emission often occurs alongside alpha or beta decay and emits gamma rays. Now gamma rays are just seen as a high energy photon article. Remember, photon is just a particle of light, a special type of energy. We're going to say here, because it's dealing with gamma rays, it's part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the. And because it's part of the electromagnetic spectrum and part of energy, we're going to say it has no mass or charge and is symbolized as 00 with the gamma symbol or just simply the gamma symbol.

Now gamma rays are emitted by an atom in an excited state. Here we have thallium in an excited state, thallium 2O four. It undergoes gamma emission and what's going to occur here is that nothing is changing in terms of our mass number or atomic number with the gamma particle. So it still stays thallium 204. What's happening here is basically in terms of the electrons and the orbitals of the excited atom, they're just going from 1 shell to another shell. It's an excited state.

And what's happening here is that we're emitting energy. The electron is going down to a lower orbital state, more ground level state, and as a result it's releasing this gamma ray, but it's staying the same. It's still the same exact isotope. Thallium 2O four is still Thallium tool 4. But again, remember we said this typically happens alongside alpha or beta decay, so it usually doesn't just stop here, it would continue or work in conjunction with an alpha decay or beta decay. So keep that in mind when it comes to gamma emission reactants.

Gamma Emission Example

So one thing that I like about nuclear reactions is that we get to that lower level elements in the periodic table and you'll start to notice that they have names that you're familiar with, names connected to countries, to planets, to people. Here in this example question it says provide a balanced nuclear reaction for alpha decay of americium 241. Here it says show gamma emission.

Now americium is named after America, so it's AMERICIUM. So here I'm Americium 241. Its mass number is 241. If you look on the periodic table, its atomic number is 95. We say that it undergoes alpha decay, so it would emit an alpha particle which is 4/2α and then it also emits a gamma particle which is not going to change anything, right?

So remember your mass number on both sides have to be the same. Your number of protons overall have to be the same on both sides. We have 241 here on the reactant side, so we need 241 on the product side. Four of them are coming from the alpha particle, so the remaining 237 have to be part of our new isotope. Here we have 95 protons on the reactant side, so we need 95 protons on the product side. Two of them are coming from the alpha particle, meaning we need 93 more.

This, if we look on the periodic table 93, gives us neptunium named after Neptune. So again, when we get down to these heavy elements, we can see these interesting names. Again, they're being gifted. Well, not gifted people who have contributed to chemistry in some regard or in terms of a country or in terms of a planet. You'll start seeing that there's even an element for Einstein.

OK, so for this one we have Americium 241 undergoing alpha decay mixed with gamma emission to give us Neptunium 237.

Characteristics of Gamma Rays

Now, when comparing gamma rays or gamma particles to the other energetic particles, we can say that gamma rays are the smallest in size. We're also going to say that they have lowest in ionizing power, but they have the highest in penetrating power. Here when we look at the gamma ray or gamma mission compared to the other two.

Here the gamma particle would be 00 with the gamma symbol. Here we have thallium tool 4 becoming thallium 204. Again, it's just in terms of our electron moving from 1 orbital to another. In terms of size they'd be the smallest since they have no mass and they have no atomic number here. In terms of ionizing power, they would be the lowest and then in terms of penetrating power, they would be the highest.

Because they have the highest penetrating power, we need to do as much as we can to protect or shield ourselves from their effect. So what could you use? Well, here you would need a thick sheet of lead. OK, so you need a thick sheet of lead or concrete. You need something that dense that thick to protect you from the penetrating power of a gamma ray or gamma particle.

OK, so just keep in mind when we compare these different types of energetic particles, how they differ from one another?

Gamma Emission Example

Now, which statement is true about gamma rays can only be stopped by aluminum? Well, we know that's true even if we don't know the density of aluminum. And aluminum is a lightweight metal. We know that lead is the metal that's typically used, so we know that it could only be aluminum if aluminum can even do it. But that's the highest ionizing power.

So remember, they have the lowest ionizing power, not the highest. It is capable of penetrating through many kinds of protective materials. Yes, because we need something as thick as lead or concrete to stop the progression of a gamma particle or gamma ray emitted by excited electrons.

So here when it comes to gamma particles, it's not only in terms of excited electrons. When we talk about gammy emission, it can be coupled with alpha decay or beta decay. There could be an excess of protons or neutrons that are coupled with a gamma emission. It's not necessarily just time to excited electrons. If it were, then gamma emissions would be happening all the time everywhere. So this is not true.

So here C is the most true statement that's presented to us in this question.

Here’s what students ask on this topic:

What will stop gamma-emission radiation?

Gamma radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a very high energy level, which makes it highly penetrative. To stop or reduce gamma radiation, dense materials are required. Lead is commonly used because of its high density; even a relatively thin barrier of lead can absorb a significant amount of gamma radiation. Concrete is another material that can be used, especially in situations where large areas need to be shielded, such as in nuclear power plants. However, a much thicker layer of concrete compared to lead is needed to achieve the same level of protection. Other heavy metals like depleted uranium can also be effective, but due to cost and toxicity, they are less commonly used. The thickness of the shielding material required to stop gamma radiation depends on the energy of the gamma rays; higher energy gamma rays require thicker layers of shielding to be absorbed effectively.

Which of the following represents a gamma emission?

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Gamma emission refers to the release of gamma rays from a nucleus. Gamma rays are high-energy photons, and the emission occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. This process often follows other types of radioactive decay, such as alpha or beta decay, where the daughter nucleus is left in an excited state.

To represent gamma emission, you might see it notated as:

$X_{ZA}\to Y_{ZA}+\gamma$

Here, XZA is the parent nucleus, YZA is the same nucleus after the gamma emission, and γ represents the emitted gamma photon. Notice that the mass number (A) and the atomic number (Z) of the nucleus remain unchanged because gamma emission does not involve the loss of protons or neutrons, only energy in the form of photons.

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What is gamma emission?

Gamma emission is a type of radioactive decay where an unstable atomic nucleus releases excess energy in the form of gamma rays. Unlike alpha and beta decay, gamma decay does not change the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus but instead brings the nucleus from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Gamma rays are high-energy photons, which are a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to X-rays but with even higher energy. They are highly penetrating and can pass through most materials, which is why they require heavy shielding, like lead or concrete, for protection. Gamma emission often follows alpha or beta decay, as the daughter nucleus may still be in an excited energy state and needs to emit gamma rays to achieve stability. Gamma rays are used in various applications, including medical treatments like cancer radiotherapy, sterilization of medical equipment, and imaging techniques such as PET scans.

Why does gamma emission not change the atomic number of the product?

Gamma emission does not change the atomic number of a nucleus because it involves the release of energy from the nucleus in the form of gamma rays, which are high-energy photons. Unlike alpha or beta decay, gamma decay does not involve the emission of particles that change the composition of the nucleus. Instead, gamma decay occurs when a nucleus is in an excited state with excess energy and transitions to a lower energy state, emitting the excess energy as a photon. Since photons are packets of energy without mass or charge, their emission does not alter the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus. The atomic number, which is the number of protons in the nucleus, remains the same before and after gamma emission. Consequently, the element itself does not change; only the energy state of the nucleus changes.