γ Radiation is an electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the range of 0.1–100 pm. Like all forms of electromagnetic radiations, the γ ray has no mass and no charge and interacts with material by colliding with the electrons in the shells of atoms. Irradiation with γ rays is very penetrating, and the energy transferred induces a wide variety of lesions into the components of cultured cells, especially deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
