Which statement about gamma photons is correct?

Which statement about gamma photons is correct?

• A. They have mass and charge.
• B. They have no mass and no charge.
• C. They are charged particles.
• D. They are emitted only during fission.

Answer: (B)

Gamma photons are quantum packets of electromagnetic radiation. They have zero rest mass and no electric charge, yet they carry energy and momentum and travel at the speed of light in vacuum. This means they’re not like massive charged particles; their interactions with matter come from electromagnetic processes such as the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, or, at higher energies, pair production, rather than from Coulomb forces. They can be produced in many nuclear and atomic processes, not only during fission—such as when a nucleus de-excites after a reaction or from electron-positron annihilation. So the statement that gamma photons have no mass and no charge correctly describes their fundamental nature.

Gamma photons are quantum packets of electromagnetic radiation. They have zero rest mass and no electric charge, yet they carry energy and momentum and travel at the speed of light in vacuum. This means they’re not like massive charged particles; their interactions with matter come from electromagnetic processes such as the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, or, at higher energies, pair production, rather than from Coulomb forces. They can be produced in many nuclear and atomic processes, not only during fission—such as when a nucleus de-excites after a reaction or from electron-positron annihilation. So the statement that gamma photons have no mass and no charge correctly describes their fundamental nature.