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To destroy cancer cells ____ are used.

Asked in GSEB Board March 2020 · Uses and atmospheric effects

Answer: (1) Gamma rays

Step-by-step solution

Idea: killing a tumour deep inside the body needs radiation that both reaches it and ionises strongly enough to break the molecules of the cell.

Gamma rays have the shortest wavelength in the spectrum and hence the largest photon energy h u, so they are both the most penetrating and the most strongly ionising band.

In radiotherapy a gamma source, such as cobalt, is aimed at the tumour from several directions so that the dose adds up there and not in the healthy tissue.

So gamma rays are used to destroy cancer cells.

Why the other options are wrong

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