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Is a gamma-ray laser possible?
A gamma-ray laser, or graser, is a hypothetical device that would produce coherent gamma rays, just as an ordinary laser produces coherent rays of visible light. …
Are gamma-ray weapons possible?
American military scientists are developing a weapon which kills by delivering an enormous burst of high-energy gamma rays, it is claimed today. The bomb, which produces little fallout, blurs the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons, and experts have already warned it could spark a new arms race.
How do you make a gamma-ray?
They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes. On Earth, gamma waves are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.
What can a gamma-ray laser do?
The highly penetrating gamma rays are shorter in wavelength than x-rays, and can be utilized for spacecraft propulsion, advanced medical imaging and treating cancers. To make gamma-ray laser beams, the positronium atoms need to be in the same quantum state, called a Bose-Einstein condensate.
How does a bomb pumped laser work?
A nuclear pumped laser is a laser pumped with the energy of fission fragments. The fission fragments of the uranium create excited plasma with inverse population of energy levels, which then lases.
How much gamma radiation is lethal?
To cause death within hours of exposure to radiation, the dose needs to be very high, 10Gy or higher, while 4-5Gy will kill within 60 days, and less than 1.5-2Gy will not be lethal in the short term. However all doses, no matter how small, carry a finite risk of cancer and other diseases.
How are gamma ray bursts produced?
When fusion no longer generates enough pressure to counteract gravity, the star rapidly collapses to form a black hole. Theoretically, energy may be released during the collapse along the axis of rotation to form a gamma-ray burst.
Can gamma rays be focused?
Focusing gamma-rays is not easy. When a gamma-ray hits matter, it interacts in such a way as to destroy the gamma-ray or significantly change its energy. That means traditional mirrors and lenses don’t work for focusing gamma-rays.
Is sunlight a laser?
The simple answer is that LASER light is a coherent beam of a single frequency. Sunlight is non coherent and consists of multiple frequencies. The main difference is that laser light is coherent. Sunlight comes out in all directions, and at all frequencies.