Stormy Days & Gamma Rays
A thunderstorm, viewed from an airplane above the clouds, glows in gamma rays (purple in this illustration).
The ALOFT team/Mount Visual (CC BY 4.0)Directions for teachers:
To engage students before reading the article, have them answer the “Before Reading” questions as a warmup in class. Then, instruct students to read the online Science News article “Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of gamma rays” and answer the “During Reading” questions. As an optional extension, instruct students to answer “After Reading” questions as a class discussion or as homework.
This article also appears in the November 2, 2024 issue of Science News. Science News Explores offers another version of the same article written at a middle-school reading level. Post this set of questions without answers for your students using this link.
Directions for students:
Answer the first set of questions as instructed by your teacher before reading the article. Then, read the online Science News article “Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of gamma rays” and answer the remaining questions as directed by your teacher.
Before Reading
1. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is energy that travels through the universe at the speed of light. We can see some types of EMR — called visible light — with our eyes. But the spectrum of EMR is vast and most of it invisible to human eyes. Gamma rays are one example. Read this 16-sentence article, then come up with a simple, one-sentence definition of gamma rays. Finally, use what you’ve learned to speculate what Earth might look like today if its atmosphere did not serve as a shield against this kind of energy. Explain your reasoning.
Gamma rays are high energy forms of electromagnetic radiation. Life on Earth probably wouldn’t exist as we know it because high-energy gamma rays can damage (or even kill) tissues.
2. EMR is measured in wavelengths. For information on that, check out this explainer. Sketch a picture to illustrate wavelength differences between three EMR types: gamma rays, radio waves and visible light. In one sentence, summarize the relationship between wavelength and energy. In your picture, point out which type of EMR has the highest energy.
Sketches should show radio waves having the longest wavelengths and gamma rays having the shortest. As the wavelength of EMR decreases, the amount of energy increases. Gamma rays have the shortest wavelength and therefore, they are the most energetic.
During Reading
1. What new type of gamma-ray blast did researchers find in this study? Besides gamma-ray “glows,” what other type of gamma-ray outburst did scientists know about before conducting this study?
Scientists unveiled flickering gamma-ray flashes. Scientists also knew about terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.
2. Contrast the brightness of these two previously known gamma-ray types.
Gamma-ray flashes are brighter than gamma-ray glows.
3. Compare the brightness and duration of the newfound gamma-ray emissions with the two previously known types. To what did the author compare the new gamma-ray emissions?
The brightness and duration of the newfound flickering gamma-ray flashes lie between the terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and the gamma-ray glows — they brightened and dimmed repeatedly in short pulses over tens to hundreds of milliseconds The author compared the flickering gamma-ray emissions to a high-energy strobe light.
4. After conducting the new study, what misconception did scientists correct about gamma-ray glows?
Previously, scientists thought the brightness of gamma-ray glows was static; this study revealed that their brightness can fluctuate.
5. Describe at least one aspect of the study’s experimental design that is mentioned in the article.
Ten flights with NASA’s ER-2 aircraft flew at altitudes nearly twice that of commercial flights and used sensors to gather data.
6. What are electrons and what is their role in gamma-ray outbursts.
Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles. Electrical fields in the thunderclouds accelerate electrons, which can then crash into air molecules, producing gamma rays.
7. What evidence led scientists to conclude that past satellite data might have underestimated the frequency of some gamma-ray outbursts?
NASA’s ER-2 aircraft detected gamma-ray flashes that were too dim for satellites to see.
8. What fundamental electrical phenomena do scientists hope might be explained by better understanding flickering gamma-ray bursts?
Studying flickering gamma-ray outbursts might help explain what initiates lightning.
After Reading
1. Many mysteries remain to be solved when it comes to weather phenomena. Point out one example of an unsolved weather-related mystery mentioned in this story. Consider how conducting experiments to investigate weather-related phenomena might come with unique challenges. Describe two obstacles that might make studying the mystery you’ve described above difficult.
Answers will vary, but many students will point to the mystery of lightning. Potential challenges could include references to the unpredictability of such phenomena, the large scale on which weather-related changes occur, or many other things.