• Question: do you use gamma rays

    Asked by skas532mogs9 to michaeltaylor, ievajankute, Alana M on 2 Oct 2025.
    • Photo: Michael Taylor

      Michael Taylor answered on 2 Oct 2025:

      Hi, yes, in one of our research projects we are using the gamma-rays that are emitted naturally during proton beam therapy to measure where the protons stop in the patient

    • Photo: Ieva Jankute

      Ieva Jankute answered on 6 Oct 2025:

      Yes, but not directly – I don’t need to set up the experiment myself or handle any radioactive substances. I am an astrophysicist interested in black holes that produce gamma rays. One way to detect them is in space, using a so-called pair-production telescope. It looks just like a square box, and when a gamma-ray enters it and interacts with the materials inside this box, it can produce an electron and a positron, which the telescope then detects!

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