Brightest gamma ray on Earth -- for a safer, healthier world
Monday, September 19, 2011 - 12:30
in Physics & Chemistry
The brightest gamma ray beam ever created -- more than a thousand billion times more brilliant than the sun -- has been produced in research that could open up new possibilities for medicine. Physicists have discovered that ultra-short duration laser pulses can interact with ionized gas to give off beams that are so intense they can pass through 20 cm of lead and would take 1.5 m of concrete to be completely absorbed. The ray could have several uses, such as in medical imaging, radiotherapy and radioisotope production for PET (positron emission tomography) scanning. The source could also be useful in monitoring the integrity of stored nuclear waste.