Going Bananas for Gamma Rays

What kind of rays can come from bananas you ask? Helpful or harmful, the answer is gamma rays. While sources of the waves include radioactive atoms and nuclear explosions, they can also be found in foods with a high amount of potassium. Their frequency range is from ten to the twentieth hertz to ten to the twenty fourth hertz and their wavelength range is less than ten to the negative twelfth meters.

Gamma rays can be used for a variety of reasons. In medicine, they are used to kill cancerous cells as well as sterilize the equipment. They can also measure soil density as well as liquid flow in industrial processes. Another interesting application of gamma rays is they can be used to pasteurize some foods and spices.


There are some interesting phenomena related to gammas rays too. They can’t be captured or reflected in mirrors so balloons or spacecraft with a gamma ray telescope are used to capture them instead. The picture shows what the moon would look like taken in gamma rays. Something else intriguing is that they produce gamma-ray bursts at least once a day in space from random directions. These bursts can release more energy than the sun has ever emitted. Gamma rays also have no mass or electrical charge.

While some of the applications from above are helpful, gamma rays do provide safety concerns. Just as they can kill cancerous cells, they can kill other living cells too. They ionize atoms in tissue or, in other words, can cause tissue damage. Gamma rays also can cause people to experience “radiation sickness”. People can be exposed to gamma rays through soil, water, meat, and as mentioned before other foods with high potassium.

Gamma rays can interact with matter in three different ways. The first way is by the photoelectric effect seen with low gamma energies. A second is by Compton scattering where a gamma ray and an electron interact causing the electron’s energy to increase. The third way is by pair production when high energy gamma rays create two particles after being absorbed.

While there are many parts to the Electromagnetic Spectrum, gamma rays are definitely important. There are many useful purposes for them and yet they can still be deadly. Gamma rays have unique qualities about them as well such as the ability to produce gamma ray bursts. They can interact with matter in a few different ways too. Gamma rays certainly are extraordinary.

Pictures are from N.A.S.A. and the Science and Technology Facilities Council

Works Cited

"Gamma-rays." National Aeronautics and Space Administration . N.p., 27 Mar. 2007. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.
"Gamma Rays." United States Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.
"Module 3: Interaction of Radiation With Matter." Environmental Health and Safety. University of Toronto, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.

The Science of the Dead

The science field I have chosen is forensic science. Forensic science is used in a court of law and combines many sciences to help solve legal questions both for criminal and civil cases. There are many types of sub-sciences stemming from forensic science including forensic engineering, linguistics, psychology, anthropology, biology, entomology, geology, pathology, and toxicology. Jobs forensic scientists have range from collecting evidence (finger prints, hairs, blood, etc) from crime scenes, running evidence through machines, studying a corpse to determine the cause of death, or presenting information during a trial. For more information on forensic scientists check out what the American Academy of Forensic Scientists has to say.

This type of science appeals to me because I enjoy watching the CSI shows on television. I realize that the shows don’t accurately depict what the job is actually like but I find them intriguing none the less. I also love trying to solve challenging puzzles and that’s what the job basically is. Another reason I am attracted to the job is I would prefer to be able to move around during my job. By this I mean I would rather be out collecting evidence or working in a lab than sitting behind a computer in a cubicle all day.

Being a forensic scientist meets my goals because one of my goals is to get into a field where I can help others. Through this job I can collect, review, and present information that will help get justice for those who have been harmed by a criminal’s doing or are wrongly accused of doing something themselves. Another goal I have is to make sure I end up doing something I love for a living. If I am a forensic scientist I’m at least guaranteed things will not become boring or too repetitive over time because of the variety of cases I could be dealt.

Being a forensic scientist matches my thinking style because I like to challenge myself to think outside the box. I would have to do this in order to handle cases that are out of the ordinary. This profession also matches my learning style because I would have to learn things by doing them, such as how to process evidence, and by seeing them, such as recognizing the different types of blood spatter, and I am a visual learner.

The legacy forensic scientists have for future generations is making the process of solving cases quicker through new technological advances which in turn should make the process easier too. When this happens, criminals will be caught more frequently which might reduce the crime rate.

Bibliography:
http://www.deviantcrimes.com/bloodspatter.htm
http://www.topbits.com/forensic-science.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00206/index1.htm
http://www.aafs.org/default.asp?section_id=resources&page_id=choosing_a_career

Pictures from Thomas Edison High School, Engines of Our Ingenuity, and HowStuffWorks

Nuclear Fuel Rods, Harmless or Harmful?

Will holding a nuclear fuel rod burn your fingers right off, or, will it be safe enough that nothing so tremendous will happen? This myth may have become popular thanks to the opening sequence of the show The Simpson. In it we see Homer leaving the power plant and dropping a bar of uranium which then bounces and lands in between his shirt and his back. Later he reaches and pulls it out with his hands and throws it out of his car window while driving. In the newer version of the opening sequence we even see the bar of uranium landing on another character who then proceeds to eat it.

But first, what is a nuclear fuel rod? It is a group of tubes made of zirconium alloy or stainless steel. Inside these sealed tubes are pellets made of enriched uranium stacked on top of one another. Bundled together, these nuclear fuel rods are then used to form a nuclear fuel core.

So, are they safe to hold? The answer is no, not without special protection for your hands. This is because the pellets, as mentioned, are made of uranium which is radioactive according to Los Alamos National Laboratory's Chemistry Division. Meaning, nuclear fuel rods are radioactive. The Energy Information Administration also says they are even more radioactive after they are completely used up and ready to be replaced. Therefore, they are not safe enough to directly hold.

-Pictures from Flickr and Climate Progress