differentiate between aplha and gamma rays with respect to the following piont nature , velociy. ,ionization
Answers
There are many good answers here so my addition will help just a little to remember their properties. Feature you are in a forest with three guns, an alpha, beta, and gamma. You just have to remember their sequence as the first three letters of the Greek alphabet. These have different ranges and ionizations depending on what they are.
Now the alpha is fired from a cannon that is fired on the ground at the base of the trees. It is a huge projectile. The nucleus of a helium atom with a weight of 4 and a charge of 2. As the projectile travels it hits the base of the trees blowing them to pieces. We call that destruction "ionization" and since it is hitting big parts of the trees and smashing them so badly, it loses energy very quickly and doesn't go far at all. But where it does go, there is destruction. The alpha loses energy so fast it can only travel a few inches in air and not even penetrate a sheet of paper.
Now the beta is fired halfway up the tree and is much lighter and as an electron with only a charge of one. When it is fired, it only hits an occasional branch and doesn't do as much damage so it goes much further than the alpha. So the ionization length is much longer but not as concentrated. Beta can travel a few feet in air and penetrate a thin piece of metal
The gamma is fired from the top of the tree and being a photon has no charge at all and no dimension, but it has a lot of energy. So it goes very far, only occasionally hitting a twig or leaf which it damages. As a result, it travels much farther than the alpha and beta and can do damage at much greater ranges. The ionization trail is much, much longer so the area of danger is very much greater since it can travel several hundred feet in air.
My apologies to those who understand what these are, but this is the analogy I use to introduce the concept to those without any understanding of what radiation is.