Newly developed gamma ray could be used for radiotherapy

The new ray, which is more than a thousand times more brilliant than the Sun, could be used for medical imaging, radiotherapy, and radioisotope production for PET (positron emission tomography scanning). The source could also be used in measuring the integrity of stored nuclear waste.

Prof Dino Jaroszynski of Strathclyde, who led the research, said: ‘This is a great breakthrough, which could make the probing of very dense matter easier and more extensive, and so allow us to monitor nuclear fusion capsules imploding.

‘In nature, if you accelerate charged particles, such as electrons, they radiate. We trapped particles in a cavity of ions trailing an intense laser pulse and accelerated these to high energies. Electrons in this cavity also interact with the laser and pick up energy from it and oscillate wildly — much like a child being pushed on a swing. The large swinging motion and the high energy of the electrons allow a huge increase in the photon energy to produce gamma rays.’