Certified Safety Professional Practice Exam

Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, akin to X-rays but typically with higher energy. One of their significant characteristics is that they are highly penetrating to tissue. This penetrating ability allows gamma rays to pass through various materials, including biological tissues, which is why they can be effectively used in medical imaging and treatments, such as radiation therapy for cancer.

The higher energy of gamma rays compared to other types of radiation enables them to penetrate dense materials more efficiently, making them less likely to be absorbed or scattered compared to lower-energy radiation. This property is essential in fields such as nuclear medicine, where imaging techniques rely on the ability of gamma rays to traverse the body and provide detailed images of internal structures.

In contrast, the other options discuss aspects that do not apply to gamma rays: they do not carry a positive charge as they are neutral particles, their energy levels are generally higher than that of X-rays, and they do not exclusively interact through the photoelectric effect, as they can also undergo Compton scattering and pair production depending on their energy and the nature of the material they encounter.